Your Duties and Responsibility as a Commercial Landlord
If you are a commercial landlord, you have a legal duty of care to your tenant. This involves ensuring that all electrics are safe before it is let to tenants, including arranging any repairs to detected hazards. This means that it falls to you to book or conduct an EICR test prior to move in and is not the responsibility of your tenant.
To comply with laws, as a landlord, you will need to have your property surveyed with an EICR before it is let to tenants. You will also need to ensure that the electrician you have hired is legally registered to perform an EICR.
It is then their responsibility to let you know if anything needs improving before the property is safe to let to a tenant. If this is the case, you’ll need to organise for amendments to be made to ensure that the property does not pose a risk to future tenants.
After this, the responsibility is determined on a lease-by-lease basis. Ideally, regular inspections and tests of the property’s electrical systems should be carried out once every five years (industry dependant), and also if the occupancy is changed.
Changes To Private Residential Rental Regulations
Due to recent changes to the Electrical Regulations guidance posted by the government, regulations now apply to new tenancies from 1st July 2020, and to existing tenancies from 1st April 2021.
This means that thousands of rented properties are now in need of an immediate EICR test, as opposed to waiting until April 2021, which is what was previously suggested. If this change applies to you, it’s important to sort your EICR test immediately and get your electrical certificate, as breaches can carry charges of up to £30,000.
EICR Certificate Cost
The cost of EICR certificates can depend on a few factors, including the size of your property and the age of the electrics. At NSI, the EICR cost starts from just £150 + VAT (*location dependant).
If you’re a landlord or estate agent looking to obtain an EICR certificate for your rental properties, look no further, NSI are here to help!
Book in for your EICR today by clicking the link below.