Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994
These regulations came into force on January 9th 1995 and are applicable to all electrical equipment with voltages between 50 and 1000 if alternating current or between voltages of 75 and 1500 if direct current.

In order to comply a Landlord must ensure that all the electrical equipment in his property is safe. It must therefore comply with the Consumer Protection Act 1987 but must also comply with the above regulations. Therefore in order to minimise risk the Landlord must ensure the safety of all animals and the property as well as those humans who either live in the property or may enter upon the premises. Safety includes minimising the risk of injury as well as death.

The Landlord must:
1. Ensure there are written instructions for all electrical equipment in the property.

2. A safety check should be carried out by a qualified electrician (NIC), preferably annually or when the tenancy changes. We advise annually.

3. Provide the agent and tenant with written proof of the safety check prior to the tenancy commencing.

PENALTIES:
Should the electrical equipment not comply with the Regulations and an incident occurs the penalties are:

3 months and/or £5000 fine if there is risk of fire and/or an animal is injured

6 months and/or £5000 fine if a human is injured or killed.

Remember that you could also be convicted of manslaughter and there are far greater penalties for that!

In January 2005 new legislation made it a legal requirement under Part P of the Building Regulations, for certain types of electrical work in dwellings and associated buildings such as garages, sheds, greenhouses and outbuildingd to comply with the relevant standards. At the end of the day if such work is to be carried out on a DIY basis you must belong to one of the Government's approved Competent person Self-certification schemes or submit a building notice to the local authority before the work is carried out.

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