Obviously, all installs have a different requirement. A rented falt for students will need more frequent inspections than a flat for an 80yo lady who is very careful to not damage anything, and uses few appliances.

At a minimum, I would expect an interim safety check to inspect the install checking for any damage to accessories and distribution boards, do a Zs test at various parts of the install, and check the RCD operation. This should check for any immediate dangers that have occured since the full inspection.

However, if such a report is deemed necessary, why not divide the yearly/bi-yearly/5 yearly inspection into smaller parts, so that a rolling check is done at each inspection, so that safety can be assured as much as possible? Then, a visual inspection can be done at every inspection, but a full test only needs to be done on half of the install, and the other half at the next inspection. If this specification is written out beforehand, and previous test sheet available, then this is easily organised. Just have the last sheets available, then the circuits being tested on the current inspection need not be shown to the Inspector, so there is no chance of results being copied over (yes, it does happen), then, results can be compared to the previous results to see any variations.

Obviously, all installs have a different requirement. A rented falt for students will need more frequent inspections than a flat for an 80yo lady who is very careful to not damage anything, and uses few appliances.

At a minimum, I would expect an interim safety check to inspect the install checking for any damage to accessories and distribution boards, do a Zs test at various parts of the install, and check the RCD operation. This should check for any immediate dangers that have occured since the full inspection.

However, if such a report is deemed necessary, why not divide the yearly/bi-yearly/5 yearly inspection into smaller parts, so that a rolling check is done at each inspection, so that safety can be assured as much as possible? Then, a visual inspection can be done at every inspection, but a full test only needs to be done on half of the install, and the other half at the next inspection. If this specification is written out beforehand, and previous test sheet available, then this is easily organised. Just have the last sheets available, then the circuits being tested on the current inspection need not be shown to the Inspector, so there is no chance of results being copied over (yes, it does happen), then, results can be compared to the previous results to see any variations.

alanblaby said:

Obviously, all installs have a different requirement. A rented falt for students will need more frequent inspections than a flat for an 80yo lady who is very careful to not damage anything, and uses few appliances.

Yes, there are students and students. Some may be careless, others may be curious. Then there is College/University accommodation as opposed to some semi-dilapidated semi-detached shared house. I suspect that only the latter falls under the ESSPRS regs. I would suggest that for student accommodation of the former sort, an annual visual inspection (you can use hearing and touch if you wish) would be part of any normal checks for dilapidations.

As for the latter, the Regs stipulate:

"3.—(1) A private landlord(7) who grants or intends to grant a specified tenancy must—

(a) ensure that the electrical safety standards are met during any period when the residential premises(8) are occupied under a specified tenancy;"

I would suggest that whilst a formal EICR should be done no more than 5-yearly, a visual inspection between tenants protects both parties. It's rather like the inspections which are done when marching in and marching out of (Armed) Service accommodation.