The legislation of specific relevance to electrical maintenance is the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974, the Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999, the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 and the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998. The Health & Safety at Work Act 1974 puts the duty of care upon both the employer and the employee to ensure the safety of all persons using the work premises. This includes the self employed. The Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999 states: “Every employer shall make suitable and sufficient assessment of:
- The risks to the health and safety of his employees to which they are exposed whilst at work.
- The risks to ensure the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him or his undertaking
“Every employer shall ensure that work equipment is maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.”
The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
Please refer to:
- Health & Safety at Work Act 1974
- Management of Health & Safety at Work Regulations 1999
- Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
- Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992
- The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998
- The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989
Landlord Legal Requirements
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Anyone who lets residential accommodation (such as houses, flats and bedsits, holiday homes, caravans and boats) as a business activity is required by law to ensure the equipment they supply as part of the tenancy is safe. The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 requires that all mains electrical equipment (cookers, washing machines, kettles, etc), new or second-hand, supplied with the accommodation must be safe. Landlords therefore need to regularly maintain the electrical equipment they supply to ensure it is safe. The supply of goods occurs at the time of the tenancy contract. It is, therefore, essential that property is checked prior to the tenancy to ensure that all goods supplied are in a safe condition. A record should be made of the goods supplied as part of the tenancy agreement and of checks made on those goods. The record should indicate who carried out the checks and when they did it. It is strongly advisable to have the equipment checked before the start of each let. It would be good practice to have the equipment checked at regular intervals thereafter. You should obtain and retain test reports detailing the equipment, the tests carried out and the results.
