Meet electrical safety and alarm duties as a landlord in Wales

Guide summary

Use a qualified person to inspect the electrics to BS 7671:2018+A2:2022 standards
Re-inspect sooner than 5 years if the report gives an earlier date for the next inspection
Send any new report within 14 days of the inspection being completed
Send written confirmation of remedial work within 14 days of getting it
Fit a carbon monoxide alarm in each room with a gas, oil-fired or solid fuel appliance
Have gas appliances and flues checked by a Gas Safe registered engineer at least every 12 months
Give gas safety records to existing tenants within 28 days of the check
There is no separate fine, but the contract-holder can take you to court

Electrical safety and alarms are part of the duty in the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 to keep a home fit for human habitation. The detail is in the Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022, in force since 1 December 2022. You must have a valid electrical condition report and you must fit the alarms the Regulations require. There is no separate fine. A home that falls short is treated as unfit for human habitation, and the contract-holder can take you to court.

Electrical inspections, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms

Electrical safety inspection (EICR) - Wales: a valid report every 5 years or the home is unfit to live in

What landlords in Wales must do to get an electrical condition report (EICR) every five years under the Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022, when the copy must reach the contract-holder, the same Regulations' smoke and carbon monoxide alarm rules, and what happens if you do not comply.

If you are a landlord in Wales, regulation 6 of the Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022 (WSI 2022/6) requires you to make sure there is a valid electrical condition report for the dwelling during each period of occupation. The Regulations came into force on 1 December 2022. They are made under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016, and they apply to secure contracts, periodic standard contracts and fixed term standard contracts of less than seven years that incorporate the fitness duty in section 91 of the Act.

If you do not comply, the dwelling is treated as unfit for human habitation, which is a breach of a term written into the contract. There is no separate fine in the Regulations.

What you must have: A valid electrical condition report for the dwelling during each period of occupation (regulation 6(1))
Who inspects: A qualified person who is competent to inspect and test the electrical service installation, and to carry out any further investigation or remedial work, to the standards in BS 7671:2018+A2:2022, the eighteenth edition of the Wiring Regulations (regulation 6(8))
Validity: 5 years from the inspection date, or until the earlier date the report states for the next inspection if it says less than 5 years (regulation 6(2))
Copy to the contract-holder: Within 14 days of the occupation date, give the contract-holder the most recent report and written confirmation of any remedial work carried out since that inspection. Where you inspect after the occupation date, give them the new report within 14 days of the inspection being completed, and confirmation of later remedial work within 14 days of receiving it (regulation 6(3) to (5))
Older contracts: For a contract converted on 1 December 2022, the duty starts 12 months after the conversion date, so from 1 December 2023 (regulation 7)
Earlier reports: A valid report obtained before the Regulations came into force counts (regulation 8)
Consequence of non-compliance: The dwelling is treated as unfit for human habitation while you are not in compliance. You are treated as compliant again once you have a valid report and have given the contract-holder the copy or confirmation (regulation 6(6) and (7))
Remedy: The fitness duty in section 91 of the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 is a fundamental term of the contract. A court may order specific performance of it (section 100). You are not liable where the dwelling is unfit wholly or mainly because of the contract-holder's fault (section 96)
Smoke alarms under the same Regulations: Each storey of the dwelling must have a smoke alarm that is in repair and proper working order, connected to the electrical supply and linked to every other mains-connected smoke alarm (regulation 5(1))
Carbon monoxide alarms under the same Regulations: A working carbon monoxide alarm in each room that contains a gas appliance, an oil-fired combustion appliance or a solid fuel burning combustion appliance (regulation 5(2))

What you must do

Check which of your contracts are covered. Secure contracts, periodic standard contracts and fixed term standard contracts under seven years are in scope.
Commission an electrical safety inspection from a qualified person before the occupation date, so that there is a valid report for the whole period of occupation. Keep the report date in your diary.
Give the contract-holder a copy within 14 days of the occupation date, with written confirmation of any remedial work done since the inspection.
Re-inspect every five years, or sooner if the report says so, and give the new report to the contract-holder within 14 days of the inspection being completed.
Carry out any investigatory or remedial work the report requires and send the contract-holder the written confirmation within 14 days of getting it.
Check the alarms in the same visit: mains-connected, interlinked smoke alarms on each storey and a carbon monoxide alarm in every room with a gas, oil or solid fuel appliance.

Electrical safety, alarms and the other matters in the Schedule to the Regulations all feed into whether a dwelling is fit for human habitation under section 91 of the Act, so use the same inspection visit to check for damp, heating and other hazards.

Gas safety checks

Landlord annual gas safety check (CP12)

Annual safety check of gas appliances and flues by a Gas Safe registered engineer, with a record (CP12) given to tenants.

Under regulation 36 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, a landlord of residential premises let under a lease or licence must ensure that each relevant gas appliance and flue is checked for safety at intervals of not more than 12 months, and within 12 months of being installed. For a lease starting after the Regulations came into force, the check must also have been made in the 12 months before the lease begins, or within 12 months after the appliance or flue is installed, whichever is later. The check must be done by, or by an employee of, an engineer on the Gas Safe Register, the class of person the Health and Safety Executive approves.

The landlord must make and keep a record of each check until there have been two further checks of that appliance or flue, or, for one that is removed from the premises, for 2 years from the last check. The record must be given to each existing tenant within 28 days of the check, and to any new tenant before they occupy. The duty covers gas appliances (other than one the tenant is entitled to remove), installation pipework and flues.

Legal basis: Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, reg 36
Frequency: At intervals of not more than 12 months
Who can check: Gas Safe registered engineer
Record to tenant: Within 28 days (existing) / before occupation (new)
Record retention: Until two further checks, or 2 years if the appliance or flue is removed
Geographic scope: England, Scotland and Wales

Gas safety in rented properties — landlord responsibilities (opens in a new tab)

Keep your records together

For every property, keep each electrical condition report and the written confirmation of any remedial work. Note the dates you gave copies to the contract-holder, and keep your gas safety records. They show that the home was fit for human habitation if a contract-holder brings a claim.

Legal basis

Primary legislation and key regulations

Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 Primary 2016 · Wales The Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022 Welsh SI 2022 · Wales Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 SI 1998 · UK-wide

Browse UK legislation legislation.gov.uk

Official guidance

Fitness homes human habitation guidance landlords (opens in a new tab)

www.gov.wales · Wales

Gas safety: landlords and letting agents (opens in a new tab)

HSE · Great Britain

Meet electrical safety and alarm duties as a landlord in Wales

Electrical inspections, smoke alarms and carbon monoxide alarms

Gas safety checks

Keep your records together

Legal basis

Official guidance

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