Briefing: Mandatory Electrical Safety Checks

By: Caroline Aliwell
Published: November 2015

Mandatory Electrical Safety Checks

The Housing and Planning Bill 2015 entered the Committee stage on 10 November 2015. This Shelter briefing outlines our support for ESF's new clause on mandatory five-yearly electrical safety checks.

Every year, around 70 people are killed and 350,000 people are injured in the UK through contact with electricity. Private landlords are not currently required to carry out electrical safety checks on their properties. A simple change to the law would require private landlords to carry out electrical safety checks every 5 years, protecting renters from life threatening electrical hazards in the home. That is why Shelter and British Gas support Electrical Safety First's new clause introducing mandatory five-yearly electrical safety checks.