A new study by the Electrical Safety Council (ESC) paints a woeful picture of the state of electrical safety in rented accommodations.
The survey reveals that UK landlords are risking the lives of millions of private tenants, and risking serious financial penalties for themselves, by not taking their electrical safety obligations seriously enough.
The research found:
According to the ESC, electrical accidents cause more than 350,000 serious injuries each year, and are responsible for more than half of all accidental house fires. However, tenants are most at risk — they are more likely to receive a serious electric shock than homeowners, and are up to seven times more likely to experience a house fire.
By law, landlords must ensure electrical installations and wiring are maintained in a safe condition throughout the tenancy. The ESC recommends landlords should have electrical appliances and installations checked at least every five years by a registered electrician, along with carrying out regular visual checks themselves. It points out that 80 percent of local authorities are planning to crack down on landlords who fail to keep up safety standards.
According to the Government’s guide to private renting, landlords must:
A free guide for both landlords and tenants on electrical safety is available here.
The government has also announced that an additional GB pound 3m (US$3.9m) fund will be made available for councils to crack down on unscrupulous landlords, whose buildings often represent a greater fire risk.
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Pardon the pun with the subject of this comment, but these stats really are shocking. At a time when people are being forced out of the housing market by tighter mortgage regulations and forced into renting, people should be as safe or safer in a rented property. With rent prices soaring, it’s hardly as if the average private landlord can’t afford to make sure their tenants are safe.
@Robert Brown: Most of them are not concerned about safety here I guess. They are more worried about the rent.
Yes, you are right but this is where regulations/laws must be in place to protect tenants and hold landlords accountable…
In a competitive market a poor landlord would lose out, but with the widespread housing shortages, people will often live anywhere, in spite of the safety fears and concerns about their landlords.