The Welsh Assembly is being urged to introduce compulsory electrical safety legislation for private rental properties.
The Welsh Assembly is already making sprinklers mandatory in new homes, and is introducing compulsory registration of all private landlords and letting agents.
The Electrical Safety Council (ESC) says that more people in Wales are renting properties but that nearly a third of landlords are unaware of their responsibility for electrical safety.
Under current UK legislation, private sector landlords are legally required to ensure that the electrical installation in the property they rent out is safe, but proving compliance is a grey area. There is no legal obligation to carry out a periodic inspection of the installation – as is required for gas, with an annual gas safety check.
The ESC has been liaising with a number of supportive Assembly members, including Swansea East representative Mike Hedges. He recently asked Huw Lewis, the Minister for Housing, to consider the compulsory fitting of residual current devices (RCDs) in private rented sector properties.
In his response, the minister acknowledged that a number of Assembly Members shared the ESC’s concerns regarding electrical safety standards in the private rented sector, but said this should be left for local authorities to deal with, rather than national legislation.
Phil Buckle, director general of the ESC, said: “Although it is convention to include RCDs in all new-build homes, there are still a number of properties, particularly in the private rented sector, that lack adequate – or indeed any – RCD protection.
“Last December, the Welsh National Assembly gained the power to legislate on housing and safety standards in Wales and they are already leading the way in this field by requiring the installation of sprinklers for all new-builds.
“I believe that introducing the mandatory fitting of RCDs in all rented properties would be the next logical step, to ensure the safety of people’s homes and families.”
The Welsh Assembly has published a White Paper on housing, A White Paper for Better Lives and Communities, which is open for public consultation.
In its response to the consultation, the ESC is calling for RCDs to be made mandatory in every rental property, and five-yearly inspections of electrical installations in private rented properties as a condition of landlord licensing.
Meanwhile, the Welsh Government has published proposals for how its national mandatory registration and licensing scheme for all letting agents and private landlords would work.
Each will be required to register with the local authority where the property is located within a year, or face a fine of up to £20,000.
Local councils will responsible for taking any necessary enforcement action, which could also include giving tenants a rent-free period. Those operating in the private rented sector but who fail to register will be guilty of a criminal offence.
Registration costs, proposed at around £50, are intended to make the scheme self-financing.
The consultation closes on August 17.
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