Elec cert validity

Landlord Discussion
1

I’ve got a DEIC for a complete 17th edition rewire that was done on a rental property in 2016. The electricians stated on the cert that it was valid for 10 years from Sep that year.

In the meantime, we’ve had a law passed in 1st June 2020 that states that LLs must

Ensure the electrical installations in their rented properties are inspected and tested by a qualified and competent person at an interval of at least every 5 years.

Am I right to assume that the cert will be invalid as of the 1st of June 2025 and I’ll need a new one done then, or is the original valid until Sep 2026?

2

on a related note… is £120 about standard for a elec cert for a 2 bed terraced property in NE of England?

3

The cert should have been redone in 2021on the anniversary so yes I would do it now
Costs quoted are between £120 plus to £185 plus vat
Make sure you confirm they will give you five year outcome
If there is a c2 fault make sure that in recommendations that it will be a five year satisfactory once repaired within 28 days

4

Do you have a source from legislation to confirm that?

Thanks for reassuring me about price and other advice.

5

The same legislation you quoted ref 1 June 2020
It was lockdown
Tessa gave a webinar with details on the new laws and what it all meant
The eighteenth edition was introduced

6

I didn’t quote any legislation. I’m asking for a specific reference to something that confirms that the clock reset on any outstanding validity as you stipulate. In theory, for example, what you’re saying means that someone’s 10 year valid cert could have been valid one day and invalid the next depending on when it was done.

I’d rather have a pointer to something that is slightly more accessible than a 5 year old webinar hidden behind a rather high paywall.

7

well that wasn’t hard and I’m glad I checked because it shows that the advice you gave was in fact incorrect:

  1. (c) (ii) by 1st April 2021 in relation to an existing specified tenancy.

Which means I should have had one done before that date for this specific property.

I’ll get cracking then. Thanks for attempting to help.

8

If your rewire was done in September 2016
5 years after that is September 2021
So you had a valid cert in April 2021 just not in September 2021
Your cert became out of date in September 2021 so you haven’t been covered since that date
Statute usurped your electrician
How is that incorrect ?
Maybe you should speak to a solicitor
The first 20 minutes are free

9

Just to stick my oar in but IIRC the legislation for rentals say that the installation needed to be inspected and given a Satisfactory EICR to the 18th edition so this should have been done before April 2021

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10

A 5 year certificate is the maximum. The inspector may choose to give a shorter period- this would normally be because you have poor IR results

11

I cant remember if the DEIC is considered sufficient to meet the requirements of the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020. I dont have time to check at the moment, but either way, they limit the validity of a qualifying report to 5 years. I think the 10 year validity of certs is for different regs or HSE requirements.

12

Perhaps I should have quoted the full section:

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This means that, had I followed your advice and not renewed until Sep 2021, I would have fallen foul of the legislation because all existing tenancies needed a new cert by April 2021 (according to 3 (c) (ii))

Yes, this was updated in the legislation whereas prior they could be up to 10 years.

13

Thanks
I can’t remember the nuance of this as it’s now several years ago
Unless it was an HMO most landlords would not have an EICR on a regular tenancy hence why the regulations were introduced post Grenfell
You actually had a valid EICR in situ till September 2021

I remember taking legal counsel as all our properties had an EICR in situ. I was told to renew on anniversary .
When I did renew EICRs in 2020 the difference between 17th and 18th edition was the RCD board was metal which was registered as a c3 fault so it didn’t actually need to be changed . The local authority overrode this in HMOs and we did change to the new RCD.
The -18 th edition has now been revised and a lot more changes may be documented ( however my understanding this is for HMOs not regular tenancy )

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14

an EICR can have any validity which the inspector decides. For a rental property it’s 5 years max, and could be as short as 1 year

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15

The electrical safety certificate is valid for 5 years or a change of tenancy. So each time you get new tenants, you need a new electrical safety certificate.

16

Sorry to disappoint you but the EICR has a maximum validity of 5 years. The inspector can opt to state a shorter period for the next inspection.

My guidance is that you have 1 year tenancies, then as a decent landlord you should seriously consider a re inspection after 3 years as you can never tell what damage tenants can do. For example Eastern Europeans have a nasty habit of ramming 2 pin plugs into 13A sockets

1 Like
17

got some documentation to back that up @Landlady?

18

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