One of the primary responsibilities of owners, Property owners and business owners should get the proper and regular electrical inspection and testing of a property’s fixed electrical wiring and its electrical devices. Under Part P of the building standards in England and Wales, all electrical installation work in a house, garden, greenhouse or outbuilding must comply with the building standards.
Electrical Testing London is so important to avoid fines; breach of insurance terms, injury claims, or even imprisonment, homeowners must meet certain electrical safety obligations. There is currently no law that requires homeowners to perform electrical safety checks every year, but several regulations apply, including the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994, the Homeowners Act, and the Landlords Act. Tenants of 1985 and the housing law of 2004.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) enforces these regulations and homeowners are strongly recommended to have periodic inspections performed by a qualified electrician.
What is the importance of Electrical device testing in London
Testing portable devices (PAT testing) is an important aspect of all health and safety policies. According to the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), 25% of all reported electrical accidents involve portable devices.
Employers, their employees, and the self-employed must comply with the Electrical Workplace Regulations and must take reasonably practical steps to reduce the risk of danger when using any electrical equipment. This requires regular maintenance, inspection and testing of portable electrical devices. According to the Occupational Health and Safety Act (1974), when electrical appliances are used or rented, supplied, maintained or repaired by employees or the public, they must be tested to ensure that they can be used safely. This also covers devices used by remote or home workers you employ, as well as agency and contractor workers.
How often portable devices are tested depends on the type of device and the level of risk involved, as well as how and where it is used. The Institution of Electrical Engineers (IEE) has published its Code of Practice for the Inspection and In-Service Testing of Electrical Equipment, which forms the basis for testing portable devices in the UK.
What are the Gas safety controls?
To ensure the safety of your tenants, all gas appliances and flues should be subject to an annual gas safety check, and always by a licensed Gas Safe engineer. Once this is done, you will receive a gas owner safety file or gas safety certificate with details of any checks that have been performed. It can also be called a CP12 certificate. You can organize a gas safety check at any time between 10 and 12 months after the last check, without affecting the expiration date of the original check. If less than 10 or more than 12 months have elapsed after the last verification, it will end with a new period: 12 months from the last verification. Appliances owned by your tenants are not your responsibility, although it is still your responsibility to ensure the safety of connected flues, unless they are only connected to the tenant’s appliance.
Gas Safety Measures
After your annual gas safety check and receipt of your Landlords Gas and Electrical Safety Certificates, you will need to provide a record of this check to your tenants. By law, a copy of your landlord’s gas safety record must be provided to your current tenants within 28 days of the gas safety check, and for new tenants you will need to provide it at the start of your tenancy. .
For rental periods of less than 28 days, just make sure you have a copy of your listing clearly posted inside the property. You should keep copies of this gas safety check file until two more checks have been completed.
How to do the Maintenance of gas appliances
You will need to make sure that all gas pipes, appliances, chimneys and flues are kept in good condition. Consult the gas appliance manufacturer’s guidelines for how often service is recommended. If you do not have access to it, we recommend an annual service, unless instructed otherwise by your Gas Safe engineer.
Installation piping is not covered by the annual gas safety check, but we and the HSE recommend that when requesting a safety check you ask your licensed Gas Safe engineer to:
- Leak test of the entire gas system, including the installation pipes.
- Visually inspect the pipes (if possible)
There is no formal obligation for you to keep maintenance records, but you will need to be able to demonstrate that you have regularly maintained the pipes, appliances and flues and made any necessary repairs.