The Electrical Safety Standards for Private Tenancies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Regulations)

These regulations impose duties on landlords of a dwelling-house in Northern Ireland in respect of electrical safety standards. The duties do not apply to landlords of social housing. The regulations require the council to enforce the duties and include a power to arrange remedial action.

Part 1 sets out preliminary matters and defines terms used in the regulations.

Part 2 sets out the duties of a landlord.

Regulation 3(1) requires a landlord to ensure that the electrical safety standards are met during any period when the dwelling-house is let under a tenancy, and that every fixed electrical installation is inspected and tested at regular intervals by a qualified person.

Regulation 3(2) provides a definition for “at regular intervals” this means at intervals of no more than 5 years or where the most recent report requires such inspection and testing to be at intervals of less than the 5 year period.

Regulation 3(3) provides that a landlord is required to obtain a report from the qualified person which gives the results of the inspection and test, supply that report to each tenant within 28 days, and to the council within 7 days of a request and retain a copy until the next inspection is due. The landlord must supply a copy of the last report to any new tenant before occupation, or any prospective tenant within 28 days of a request from the prospective tenant.

Regulation 3(4) provides that, where the report requires the landlord to ensure further investigative or remedial work, the landlord must ensure a qualified person undertakes such further investigative or remedial work within 28 days or within such lesser time period as specified in the report.

Regulation 3(5) provides that the landlord must obtain and supply written confirmation, from the qualified person of completion of such further investigative or remedial work to the tenant and the council.

Regulation 3(6) provides that where the written confirmation indicates that further investigative work is required the landlord should repeat the steps in paragraphs (4) and (5) in respect of that work.

Regulation 3(7) defines who is ‘a prospective tenant in relation to the dwelling-house’ for the purposes of paragraph (3)(e)(ii).

Part 3 provides for remedial action (other than urgent remedial action) to remedy any failure by the landlord to comply with a duty.

Regulation 4 places a duty on the council to serve a remedial notice on a landlord where they have reasonable grounds to believe that the landlord is in breach of a duty under regulation 3(1)(a), (1)(b), (1)(c), (4), (5) or (6).

Regulation 5 requires a landlord to take the remedial action specified in the remedial notice.

Regulation 6 gives the council the power to arrange remedial action.

Regulation 7 provides that a landlord may appeal against the decision of the council to take that remedial action.

Regulation 8 provides that the council may recover remedial costs reasonably incurred in taking action under regulations 6(1) and 11(1).

Regulation 9 provides that a landlord may appeal against a demand for the recovery of remedial costs served under regulation 8(2).

Regulation 10 provides that the recovery of remedial costs incurred under regulations 8(3) and 9(6) is enforced by such costs being charged on the estate of the landlord until recovered.

Part 4 provides for urgent remedial action to be taken by the council.

Regulation 11 gives the council the power to arrange urgent remedial action and provides for the service of notice of such action and appeals relating to such action.

Part 5 deals with offences.

Regulation 12 provides that a landlord who fails to comply with a duty under regulation 3 is guilty of an offence.

Part 6 makes consequential amendment for the registration of charges.

Regulation 13 inserts the charge created by regulation 10 to the list of matters to be registered in the Statutory Charges Register.

Guidance on the implementation of The Electrical Safety Standards for Private Tenancies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024 has been published and is available on the Department for Communities website at https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/articles/electrical-safety-standards-private-tenancies-regulations-northern-ireland-2024.