Mandatory Electrical Checks For Private Lets In Scotland - From December

[baldelectrician]

God bless the Scottish Government

They are about to release MANDATORY guidance that requires ALL landlords to have electrical checks from 1st December 2015.

The guidance will be released at the end of February and will be effective in December.

There will be a requirement to use a NICEIC or SELECT electrician - if a client uses another electrician that is not registered they will have to carry out due diligence ( they will have to ask for lots of info such as copies of insurance, competence etc)

i reckon that over 90% of landlords do not have the electrics correct now, this will make a lot more of them bring the properties up to a more reasonable standard.

It gets better- if a landlord chooses not to use a registered electrician they have to ask the electrician fro about 11 different items to prove competence ( copy of qualifications, insurance etc.), remember there is no Part P in Scotland.

There will also be a MANDATORY new tenancy agreement that landlords and agents will have to use, this will have to include gas and electrical certificates ( an EICR) as well as details of appliances tested.

more work lies ahead.....

 

[ProDave]

Do you have a link to this, particularly the bit about being NIC or SELECT?

I do a lot of EICR's for landlords, but I'm bu99ered if I am signing up to one of the scams so it may mean less work for me.

I have done a bit of searching and can only find these two references to the same text

https://www.scottishlandlords.com/NewsPolicy/PolicyItem.aspx?ArticleId=227

http://www.ardanachlettings.co.uk/changes-in-legislation/

Any new tenancy from 1 December 2015 must have an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)
Any exisiting tenancy must have an EICR by 1 December 2016, so there will be a 1 year period to bring exisiting tenancies up to standard.
An EICR which complies with BS7671, completed by a competent person, since 1 January 2012 will be acceptable.
An EICR completed on, or after, 1 December 2015 must have additional documents to show a record of appliances checked and any remedial work undertaken, but these additional documents won’t be required if the EICR was completed earlier.
An ongoing duty to renew EICRs every 5 years.

The only "new" bit appears to be a requirement to document remedial work carried out and to document "appliances" checked.  So does that imply (without stating it) that PA testing is also required?

So all we need is a model of this extra information that's required to append to a standard BS7671 EICR. I'm sure that will be produced in plenty of time.

 

[Sidewinder]

I think the clue is in the term "competent person", apparently NICEIC or SELECT contractors are competent.

Well, more that they are assessed by the scheme and their cheque did not bounce but there we are.

Basically the "badge" is showing that apparently the schemes have done due diligence on the contractor's competence to save the Landlord doing it.

Which they have, in a way, it's just that their ideas of competence don't go much further than being able to pay a bill in some cases it seems.

Plus with the QS system, the guy doing the work on the premises does not even have to be trained, qualified, competent, or an electrician of any sort.

They can use anyone to do the inspection and testing as long as the QS has a 17th Ed qualification then that's all OK.

 

[kerching]

Quote

Plus with the QS system, the guy doing the work on the premises does not even have to be trained, qualified, competent, or an electrician of any sort.

They can use anyone to do the inspection and testing as long as the QS has a 17th Ed qualification then that's all OK.

Did they ever do anything about large firms and only 1 QS?

I 'think' something was mentioned at the select committee when emma ( bless her little white knee socks and ,,,,,,,,,,,,) said Large companies were meant to have sufficient QSs.....or am i imagining it?

 

[Blue Duck]

Good for Scotland I do hope it doesn't turn into a pee like afair!

As for the QS system I believe that is under the carpet with anything else that may have come of that meeting.

Apart from skeleton who is loud and proud.

:C

 

[Sidewinder]

Kerch,

I imagine that you imagine a LOT of things wrt Emma.

However, IIRC she did say some such nonsense.

I know a guy with about 8 sparks, he is QS & he has another also., so say 10 of them, he feels that he needs that to keep minimum control & quality.

He has the same NICEIC AE as I do also.

 

[baldelectrician]

Do you have a link to this, particularly the bit about being NIC or SELECT?

I do a lot of EICR's for landlords, but I'm bu99ered if I am signing up to one of the scams so it may mean less work for me.

I have done a bit of searching and can only find these two references to the same text

https://www.scottishlandlords.com/NewsPolicy/PolicyItem.aspx?ArticleId=227

http://www.ardanachlettings.co.uk/changes-in-legislation/

The extra info is all the stuff you need to join a scheme- copy of insurances, proof of training etc.

The only "new" bit appears to be a requirement to document remedial work carried out and to document "appliances" checked.  So does that imply (without stating it) that PA testing is also required?

So all we need is a model of this extra information that's required to append to a standard BS7671 EICR. I'm sure that will be produced in plenty of time.