Important Things You Should Know About Electrical Safety Certification.

Electrical safety certification has become a recurring term whenever properties are being discussed. The law requires landlords and homeowners to get an electrical safety certificate for their property before renting or selling it to the public. However, since electrical safety certification has not always been around, not every landlord or homeowner knows about it. 

In this post, we’ve highlighted important things we think everyone should know about electrical safety certificates. If you don’t know much about electrical safety certificates, then this post is for you.

Without wasting time, let’s get started.

First things first,

What is an electrical safety certification all about?

Electrical safety certification is a document that proves that electrical safety checks have been carried out on a property and all electrical installations, fuse boxes, and wirings are up to the recommended standards. Since this certificate is the only way of proving that your property is electrically safe it is best to hire a good engineer who can carry out the safety checks and issue the electrical safety certification.

Why should you get an electrical safety certification for your property?

Well, the short answer to this question would be, that the law requires every property to have an electrical safety certification. However, getting an electrical safety certificate for your property will benefit you more than it will benefit the government. This certification helps to ensure that all electrical fittings, appliances, and wirings are done properly. This way, your tenants are not exposed to the risk of electrically unfit installations. Electrically unfit installations can cause serious fire outbreaks that can sometimes lead to death.

Why is there so much concern about electrical safety certification?

All landlords, business owners, and homeowners owe a duty of care to anyone who enters the premises. They are to ensure that tenants and visitors are safe from any electrical mishap that may occur as a result of electrical faults. Electrical mishaps can happen at any time bringing about loss of lives or property but one verified way of preventing any type of electrical accident is by getting an electrical safety certificate for the property. If you do not get an electrical safety certificate a priority you will be endangering the lives and property of your tenants and visitors.

How to get an electrical safety certification for your property.

To get an electrical safety certificate, you will have to hire a registered electrician to come and carry out electrical safety checks on the premises. After the electrician is done with the safety checks, he will then issue an electrical safety certificate if he is satisfied that the electrical installations on the property are up to the recommended standards.

The engineer will inspect both new and existing installations as well as any installation connected to the electrical circuits. Only registered engineers are permitted to issue the electrical safety certification so ensure that you hire a registered engineer for the job otherwise the certificate may not be accepted by insurance providers, estate agents, or councils.

Types of electrical safety certification.

The electrical safety certification that will be issued will vary depending on the installation or the inspection done by the electrician. There are 2 types of electrical safety certification that are popular among landlords and homeowners. They are Electrical Installation Certificates (EIC) and Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificates (MEIWCs).

The Electrical Installation Certificates (EIC) shows the state of the electrical installations at the time of inspection. It tells you whether the installations on your property are satisfactory or not. If the electrician finds out that some installations do not meet the required standards, he will give suggestions for remedial repairs that will bring your property’s installations to standard.

The electrician will use codes to indicate whether the electrical installations are satisfactory or not. Different codes will mean different things. Some of the codes are

1. C1: this means that there is an imminent danger and the installations pose a serious threat to lives and property and will require immediate attention.
2. C2: this means potentially dangerous and will also require immediate repairs. However, the threat is not as serious as C1.
3. FI: this means that the electrician will need to carry out further investigation on the property.
4. C3: this simply means improvements need to be made to the electrical installations.

These are the codes that will be used for the electrical safety certificate.

Duties of landlords to tenants. 

Landlords and homeowners have a duty when it comes to obtaining and issuing electrical safety certificates.

Some of these duties include;

• Receiving the electrical safety certificate from the electrician and giving all existing tenants a copy of the certificate within 28 days. The landlord should also get a date for the next inspection from the electrician.
• On request, landlords will also have to give a copy of the certificate to local housing authorities within 7 days.
• Supply a copy of the electrical safety certification to new tenants before they move into the property.
• Retain a copy of the certification and present it to the next electrician who comes to carry out   safety checks on the property.

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