New rules or regulations for social landlords?

As a QS with a social landlord we have been told that we need to report any C1 and C2  on an eicr.(Unsure where this information goes yet).
The thing is this is not how I work, as I have to complete remedial repairs, I will repair the C1 and C2 issues before I issue a satisfactory report.

Does anyone else know about this?

Parents
  • I don’t know of any imperative to record issues that have been addressed but it seems sensible from the perspective of evaluating the suitability of the installation to deal with the external influences and the appropriateness of the maintenance regime in place.

    We are often asked to re-issue our EICRs which have an original unsatisfactory designation to one which reads as satisfactory. The original issues that have been addressed are simply crossed out but remain legible.

  • I'm not sure about the new rules for social landlords. But for private ones, if the EICR has a C1 or C2, then the landlord has to get it fixed, and get documentary evidence that it's been fixed.  That way, they have the paper trail in case the council asks to see it.

Reply
  • I'm not sure about the new rules for social landlords. But for private ones, if the EICR has a C1 or C2, then the landlord has to get it fixed, and get documentary evidence that it's been fixed.  That way, they have the paper trail in case the council asks to see it.

Children
  • Reg. 3 of The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 applies both to private landlords and registered providers of social housing (s. 122(1A) of the Housing and Planning Act 2016 (as amended) so the same rules apply.

    It may be that before the amendment under S. 11 of The Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, social landlords were not included under the Regulations, so that would explain the change.

    As I read the Regulations, the report is due on conclusion of I&T. It is sent to the tenant and on request, to the local housing authority. If remedial work is undertaken, there must be separate written confirmation that it has been done and a copy sent not only to the tenant, but also with the EICR to the local housing authority, who does not have to request it on this occasion.

    In practical terms, if remedial work is done at the same visit, and a satisfactory EICR is issued, nobody will care. However, if you have to go back to do the remedial work, and the premises are occupied in the mean time, it may be wise to give the tenant a written warning of the danger.

  • It may be that before the amendment under S. 11 of The Social Housing (Regulation) Act 2023, social landlords were not included under the Regulations, so that would explain the change.

    Yes, as far as I can recall, Social Housing did not have to even have smoke detectors if they could show they were mitigating the risk in another suitable way. Most of them did, of course, fit the smoke detection. As for the EICRs, yes, it was a case of 'check the electrics when the Tenant moves out', if anything goes wrong in the tenancy, fix it, but no EICRs/PIRs needed.

    It has tightened up now, but, unfortunately, from my experience, most of the EICRs produced are of the 'quick look, do a Zs and RCD test and scarper' type of test, which, is quite understandable, as the HA's want the cheapest price, with the smallest inconvenience to their Tenants, so we have the race to the bottom, where the Inspector has to do 4 reports a day on tenanted properties, which is impossible to do properly.

    The Legislation has done little to improve electrical safety, there are now the quick visits for the EICRs, but few are taking them seriously, as most people know they are a work of fiction, but the HAs are happy as they have spent less than £100 for each property, and have a bit of paper showing it has been done.