Electrical Safety Guide for Tenants
Introduction
Your landlord is responsible for ensuring the electrical safety in your home of the installations (sockets, switches etc), and the appliances they provide to you. How you use these things, and the appliances that you bring into the property are your responsibility however.
Portable appliances
Your landlord is responsible for portable appliance testing (PAT) for the appliances they provide around your property.
It is your responsibility to make sure any appliances you bring into the property are safe and that you use them correctly. Appliances should be tested once per year.
Please take extra care when using high risk items such as hair straighteners.
Extension cables
The misuse of extension cables can cause fires. Wherever possible, minimise the use of extension leads in your home.
- Avoid the use of block adaptors with multiple sockets
- Never plug one extension lead into another.
Potential faults
Whilst your landlord will carry out regular inspections in your property, you should also be on the look out for potential faults:
- A smell of fish in your home can be an indicator of an electrical fire
- Damaged or exposed wiring
- Overloaded sockets
- Loose or broken sockets/switches
- Signs of overheating, scorch marks or discoloration around sockets