Combating safety concerns in the private rented sector

  Posted by: electime      27th August 2019

Electrical Safety First is the UK’s leading charity committed to reducing fires, deaths and accidents, caused by electricity. But as its Chief Executive, Phil Buckle, explains, the charity does much more than run high profile media campaigns – and why their work with Government is of particular relevance to electrical contractors.

Electricity is such a fundamental, it’s easy to forget how dangerous it can be. But it causes around 350,000 serious injuries and almost half of all domestic fires each year. That’s why Electrical Safety First always emphasises the importance of using a competent, registered electrician when undertaking repairs or renovations in the home. We believe it is work that is best left to the experts – although safety should be everyone’s concern.

The unacknowledged danger of electricity is also why we have, for the past decade, been lobbying for regular electrical checks in UK homes. Our initial focus has been on the private rented sector (PRS), as research indicates that private tenants are at greater risk from electrical fires.

Private landlords have been legally obliged to provide annual gas safety certificates for almost 20 years. And in October 2015, the requirement for carbon monoxide alarms in PRS properties came into force. Yet electricity is responsible for more deaths than gas or carbon monoxide poisoning combined.  Inevitably, given the rapid growth of the PRS – especially the growing number of families with children in rented accommodation – safety concerns have increased. And as readers will well know, electrical problems can remain invisible until an accident occurs.

In 2015 we celebrated the success of our campaign in Scotland, when regular checks in Scotland’s PRS were introduced. But despite garnering cross-party support from 71% of MPs, England still lags behind in introducing this safety essential.

To explain why, I need to provide some background. But it is worth bearing in mind that England has had 10 Housing Ministers since 2010…

Back in 2018, the then Housing Secretary, James Brokenshire announced plans for the mandatory checks to be introduced alongside the launch of a separate consultation on building regulations. (This followed the Hackitt Review, which was established in the aftermath of the Grenfell fire tragedy). Then in January of this year, the then Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Heather Wheeler MP, confirmed that mandatory checks in the PRS would be introduced.  However, we are still waiting for an announcement to tell us when the requirement will go ‘live’.

But as the Grenfell tragedy clearly showed, it is not just the PRS we need to worry about.  So we are now calling for all housing associations and local authorities  to provide free electrical safety checks – for both fixed electrical installations and electrical appliances – for all tenants . Initially, this would only cover tower blocks, as a range of issues (not least population density), make this a priority for electrical safety.

Current Government policy states that there is only an ‘expectation’ on social landlords to keep electrical installations safe.  On this basis, potentially dangerous electrical installations and appliances contained within the sector could go unchecked for many years. So we also want such checks to eventually encompass all social housing, regardless of tenure.

In the future, we we will also be reviewing how we can improve electrical safety for vulnerable groups, particularly older people, many of whom are home-owners in older houses, which have rarely (if ever) had an electrical ‘health’ check. And be assured we will also be highlighting the need for using properly qualified electricians to undertake such a task.