NAPIT seeks to help landlords improve electrical safety in rented homes

The National Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers (NAPIT) stepped up its efforts to help improve electrical safety in the private rented sector by visiting landlord associations in Truro, Cornwall, this month to offer advice to ensure that their tenants are not put in unnecessary danger.

The electrical registration body offered a presentation to make sure landlords are aware that they know that they need to keep on top of the safety of electrical installations in their properties.

The presentation was part of an ongoing campaign by the organisation to increase awareness of guidance that is available to help landlords protect their properties and tenants.

More than 3,500 landlords have received NAPIT’s advice since the start of last year.  

NAPIT’s presentations showcase some of the best and worst landlord practice seen across the country, and explain the value of having properties regularly assessed by a registered competent electrical inspector.

NAPIT’s business relationship director Ian Halton, who delivered the presentation, said “It’s become a mission of ours at NAPIT to make as many landlords as we can aware of the potential danger they could be putting their tenants in if they don’t keep on top of the electrical safety of their property.”

Almost 3,000 fires were caused by electrical distribution systems in 2015/16, leading to 379 injuries or fatalities, according to government data.

NAPIT believe that risks to tenants in privately rented accommodation are heightened by the fact that the sector as a whole has a poor safety record; 28% of homes in the sector failed to reach the government’s Decent Homes Standard in 2015, 10% more than in the owner-occupied sector, and more than double the number found in the social rented sector.

Halton continued: “Hundreds of people across England are killed or injured every year because of problems with the wiring in their homes, and too many landlords still aren’t taking the recommended precautions to ensure their tenants aren’t at risk.

“We recommend that a full inspection of the electrical safety of a property, called an Electrical Installation Condition Report, should be carried out at least every five years by a registered, competent electrical inspector to provide peace of mind for landlords and tenants alike.”

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