Electrics - Top Tips for Landlords and Tenants 

by Richard Hoskings, Director, Electrical Services Cornwall Ltd

For Landlords

1)      By now your properties electrical installation should have been electrically tested and holds a satisfactory certificate or is in a system working towards this certificate, this test needs to be repeated every 5 years or at the change of a tenancy, this will ensure any issues with the hidden wiring are flagged up and resolves before it becomes an issue.

2)      All new or replacement electrical work needs to be certificated not only for safety reasons, but it needs to be recorded for the local building control office in case it is ever required if the property were to be sold or ownership transferred.

3)      A visual check of a proportion of the properties switches and sockets should be included during the 3 monthly property inspection.

 For Tenants

1)      Your consumer unit (Used to be called the fuseboard) will be equipped with at least one if not more RCD trips, these are different to the smaller MCB’s (the miniature circuit breakers that replaced the old fuses) and will have a small “Push to Test” button on them, this should be tested every 3 months to make sure they don’t stick as these devices are designed to trip out at the slightest fault protecting everyone using the installation from anything serious occurring.

2)      Anything however simple that is not working should be checked and repaired as soon as possible to ensure it’s not a sign of anything more serious going on behind the scenes.

3)      Anything that breaks or cracks should also be attended to by a professional electrician as soon as possible.

4)      All smoke, heat and carbon monoxide detectors, should be tested regularly we recommend weekly, kept in good order and replaced when the dated label says they are due.

For All

1)      If you ever have a question or query regarding anything electrical never hesitate to give your local electrician a call we are always here to help & advise.

 https://www.electricalservices-cornwall.co.uk