Landlord Responsibilities.... Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act places a duty of care upon both employer and employee to ensure the safety of all persons using the work premises.

This general requirement has been galvanised by several recent regulations, some of which explicitly extended their requirements to cover "self employed persons" and "all persons affected by their operations".

In the Electricity at Work Regulations, a self-employed person is defined as follows:

"A self-employed person is an individual who works for gain or reward otherwise than under a contract of employment whether or not he employs others."

This definition would appear to apply to landlords and agents; similarly, tenants would appear to be a group of persons affected by the landlord's operations. This tends to suggest that electrical regulations, which are ostensibly directed at employers and the work place, are equally applicable to landlords, their premises and their tenants.

Some of the specific regulations that are applicable to electrical installations
include:
Regulation 3(1b) of The Management of Health and Safety at Work
Regulations 1992 states:
"Every employer shall make a suitable and sufficient
assessment of: the risks to the health and safety of persons
not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the
conduct by him or his undertaking"
Regulation 3 of the Electricity at Work Regulations states:
"It shall be the duty of every employer and self-employed
person to comply with the provisions of these Regulations in so
far as they relate to matters within his control."
Regulation 4(2) of the Electricity at Work Regulations states:
"As may be necessary to prevent danger, all [electrical]
systems shall be maintained so as to prevent, so far as is
reasonably practicable, such danger."

In summary, a landlord has duties both as a 'supplier of goods' and as the 'person
responsible' for an electrical installation. As a 'supplier of goods' he must ensure
that goods are checked before the tenant takes them over and as a 'person
responsible' he must ensure an adequate system of maintenance.

A regular inspection programme is an essential part of any maintenance system.
For this reason, and to provide a demonstration of due diligence, Blu Sparx Electrical Contractor recommends an annual safety inspection of all residential lets.