Consultation response: MHCLG Electrical safety in the PRS April 2018

By: Vicky Pearlman
Published: July 2018

Shelter response to MHCLG consultation on electrical safety in the PRS

Shelter fully supports the recommendations made by the working group on electrical safety standards, of which we were part, and urges the Government to implement them as soon as possible:

  • The introduction of periodic (five yearly) inspections of electrical installation safety is crucial to improving property conditions and tenant safety within the PRS.

  • Inspection reports should be issued to landlords, tenants at the beginning of a tenancy and local authorities on request.

  • Visual checks and periodic testing of any supplied white goods should also be good practice.

  • Local housing authorities are best placed to enforce regulations on the PRS as they already have responsibility for housing standards and possess valuable local knowledge. Local authority environmental health teams will need additional resource to manage any additional burdens.

  • Local authorities should be able to impose both financial penalties and non-financial penalties for non-compliance.

  • Shelter strongly supports a prohibition on issuing a Section 21 (eviction) notice if landlords have not given the tenant a copy of the electrical safety report, as is the case with gas safety and energy performance certificates.