Communities and Local Government CommitteeWritten evidence submitted by the Residential Landlords Association

1. About the Residential Landlords Association

The Residential Landlords Association (RLA) is one of the two direct membership national landlords associations operating in England and Wales. We have some 10,000 subscribers representing a membership of around 15,000. Our members own or control over 150,000 units of accommodation. Primarily our members are landlords in their own right but a number are managing and letting agents, some of whom are also landlords. Our members operate in all sub-sectors of the Private Rented Sector (PRS). Properties are rented out to families, working people, young professionals, the elderly, students and benefit customers.

2. Background

2.1 Private landlords are involved in the ownership and renting out of all the main types of dwelling (ie houses, detached, semi detached or terraced; flats; and houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).

2.2 In the case of flats landlords may own blocks of flats which they rent out, in which case they will be in control of the common parts, or they may simply own individual flats in a block, which is under the control of someone else.

2.3 So far as HMOs are concerned again there may be variations of who is in control depending on whether a property such as a house is rented out to a group of sharers (in which case the landlord will not retain control/possession) or bedsits (where a landlord controls the common parts usually).

2.4 The nature of the property and who has control over it (particularly in relation to the common parts) may well impact as regards obligations in respect of the installation and repair of both gas and electricity in the property. A tenant of a house particularly a longer term tenant is more likely to own fittings eg fires or to undertake their own repairs/improvements.

2.5 This evidence focuses on the impact of regulation of gas and electricity installation and repair on the PRS as it affects the various property types.

3. Installations and Appliances

3.1 In all of this, it is important to draw a distinction between gas or electricity installations in the property on the one hand and appliances/equipment which makes use of the gas or electricity supply on the other. The installations will be fixed, ie the electrical cabling or the gas pipe-work etc. Appliances will be fixed eg gas boilers, fixed electrical fires or, alternatively, in the case of electrical items, the appliances or equipment may well be moveable/portable. As with the type of property, this will have an important bearing on the application of responsibilities and liabilities.

3.2 So far as gas is concerned, one is essentially looking at it being used for water heating and space heating, as well as cooking. So far as electricity is concerned one is primarily looking at lighting and the use of a multitude of different appliances/equipment, as well as potentially cooking, depending on whether gas or electricity is the chosen method of cooking.

3.3 This inquiry is focusing on installations ie fixed installations such as gas pipe-work and cabling (and ancillary matters such as consumer units and switches) as well as fixed appliances, as opposed to the “loose” items. Installations are, in effect, part of the fabric of the building and fixed appliances are in the nature of fixtures attached to the building. On the other hand we have the portable items which can use electricity, eg microwaves, TVs etc, but we do not propose to comment further on these “loose” items, as being outside the remit of the inquiry.

4. Current Regulations

4.1 It is important to recognize, in our view, that both gas and electricity are already subject to detailed legislation enforceable both through the criminal and civil courts. It may well, therefore, be the case that educating those involved such as landlords and tenants can achieve much more than bringing in new regulations. In our view, present regulations are sufficient and, so far as electricity is concerned, would be subject to some relaxation.

4.2 For gas, there is already extensive regulation of both installations and fixed appliances under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations. These provide a comprehensive code administered by the Health and Safety Executive. Separately there are also detailed regulations regarding the manufacture and sale of gas appliances. Work in relation to gas has to be carried out by a gas safety registered engineer. These regulations are subject to enforcement via criminal sanctions. There is an obligation for an engineer to carry out an annual safety check and to issue a certificate but unlike electricity gas is less appropriate for “do it yourself” work. Under gas safety the regulations the obligation is to ensure that the installation, pipe-work and fixed appliances are safe at all times, in addition to the periodic inspection regime.

4.3 When it comes to electricity electrical installations in dwellings are now subject to the provisions of Part P of the Building Regulations. Ultimately enforcement of these is by criminal sanctions. We come back to these below.

4.4 There are also extensive responsibilities on the part of landlords under contractual law in relation to both gas and electricity. By virtue of Section 11 of the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 the landlord is contractually responsible for the repair of and/or keeping in proper working order the installations in a rented property for the supply of gas and electricity as well as the installations for space and water heating. Breach gives rise to a claim for damages and even an order by the Court to carry out remedial work. Under Section 4 of the Defective Premises Act 1972 there is liability in negligence on the part of the landlord for death or personal injury arising out of breach of these repairing obligations. For instance if someone is injured due to carbon monoxide fumes a claim for personal injury can be made.

4.5 Additionally, local authorities have power by virtue of the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) under Part 1 of the Housing Act 2004 to require repairs/improvements both in relation to gas installation and electrical hazards. A local authority therefore has considerable powers in regard to the potential consequences of electrical hazards, or hazards affecting gas installations and appliances.

4.6 The foregoing provisions apply to all types of dwellings in the private rented sector but, additionally, there is separate provision for HMOs. These apply to all kinds of HMOs irrespective of whether a licence is required or not. Under the HMO Management Regulations (there is a separate set of regulations for converted flats—so called Section 257 HMOs—when the flat was converted prior to 1991 and more than one third of the flats in the block are rented out) various duties are imposed on the manager of an HMO which is subject to the regulations. By virtue of the regulations local authorities have power to inspect gas safety certificates required under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations. There is a separate obligation to ensure that every fixed electrical installation is inspected and tested at intervals not exceeding five years by a qualified electrician. The electrical certificate must be issued by the electrical engineer and the local authority is entitled to require production of this certificate. There are also various obligations under the regulations which are extremely detailed in relation to the upkeep of fixtures, fittings or appliances for lighting, space heating, heating and water heating appliances. The manager must not unreasonably cause the gas or electricity supply to be interrupted. Thus, there is an additional compulsion code under the regulations for all descriptions of HMOs.

5. Gas Safety

5.1 There are a limited number of generic provisions already contained in the Building Regulations in relation to heating appliances as well as thermal insulation. These cover issues such as ensuring bath water is not too hot in new dwellings. Beyond this the Building Regulations do not currently apply in relation to gas installations/appliances. However, outside existing limited cases where Building Regulations apply, we see no justification at all for extending building regulations to cover either the installation of gas appliances or their repair. These matters are already amply and comprehensively covered under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations supplemented by the relevant approved Code of Practice issued by the Health and Safety Executive, as well as related regulations dealing with issues such as access to carry out emergency works. There is already not only this comprehensive code but a system of regular gas safety inspections. To bring in new regulations under the Building Regulations is both unnecessary and burdensome. This is because of the comprehensive nature of the existing gas regulations. Thus, gas pipe-work and fixed appliances which use gas, eg for water heating, space heating or cooking, are already well covered. Related flues are comprehensively dealt with in the Gas Safety Regulations.

6. Electrical Safety

6.1 The scope of building regulations is defined by the regulations themselves and, for these purposes, “building work” includes specified work on controlled services, including electricity (but not gas). Essentially, the regulations are framed in terms of safety and are supplemented by the Approved Part P Document. They apply to installation and extensions to the system. One would not expect repairs and maintenance to be within the scope of building work and to be subject to the Regulations.

6.2 As always with building regulations, the scheme is dependent upon the submission of plans and/or notification to the local authority (or other approved body). In our view, the practicalities and realities are such, that any further extension of building regulations beyond what they currently provide for (if it was legally possible anyway because of the definition of “building work” would be undesirable and unworkable. It would not be done in practice if the scope of the Regulations were to be increased. Indeed, in our view, there is a case for making modifications to the current regime in order to improve it and simplify it.

6.3 Beyond the current regime for the carrying out of electrical inspections in relation to HMOs, we would be opposed to the introduction of an inspection regime for electrical installations similar to that which currently supplies gas installations. In particular, we would be concerned if any such regime were applied to the private rented sector alone. The sector is already subject to heavy regulation with consequent costs. Inevitably these costs are passed on to tenants through the rent as are all regulatory requirement compliant costs. Increased regulation means additional costs which, in turn, have to be borne ultimately although indirectly, by tenants. Individual items may seem to be a good idea but it is the total regulatory burden which is the concern, especially at a time when tenants incomes are under increased pressure and local housing allowance is being reduced. It is not, however, just about the cost and regulatory burden but, more importantly, we do not believe that there is the evidence that would support the need for an extension of the current regime of electrical inspections beyond that which currently applies in the case of HMOs. Landlords are already subject to sanctions for non compliance anyway. There is potentially liability under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and civil liability.

7. The Nature of Electrical Inspections

7.1 Unlike gas safety inspections which are relatively simple and straight forward, there is considerable scope for different opinions as to what is appropriate by way of inspection and testing for electrical installations. Such inspections can be extremely costly, up to £500 per property plus VAT. There is an additional concern over and above those raised in the previous paragraph. Often, in our experience, extensive inspections are not actually needed. In our view, often all that is needed would be a visual inspection which could already be done on a “DIY” basis, eg to check sockets and switches to make sure that there is no burning and no breakages in the casing, no coming away of switches from the wall etc, coupled with an earth link impedance test. This is a simple plug in test with a meter. Provided this registers at less than 2 ohms then the circuit is in good order. There is a danger in this situation of electrical contractors pushing for work and suggesting that more extensive tests are required than is in fact the case.

8. The Operation of Part P

8.1 We consider that a number of improvements to Part P could be effected so as to simplify and speed up the system as well as saving costs.

8.2 In England and Wales Part P of the Building Regulations is the sole specific legal framework that covers the safety of electrical installations in the home, although there are the various other provisions to which we have already referred.

8.3 A major consideration is the involvement of building control or indeed approved inspectors unless they are qualified as electricians. Electrical work is specialist and, in our experience, building control in particular are loath to become involved in electrical matters, simply because they do not have the necessary knowledge. If there are cases where a competent person for Part P purposes is not involved we very much doubt that in reality building control would have the necessary expertise to inspect and pass off an electrical installation. From talking to building control staff it is simply something they do not want to become involved in because of this lack of specialist knowledge. Building control is, therefore, being used to police a system for which it is not suitably trained and does not have the requisite experience. We come back to this issue below.

8.4 Since 2005, under Part P in practice this means that riskier electrical work in the home must be inspected, tested and approved by a building control body or more usually by self-certified by a registered competent person. These jobs include new circuits and new/replacement consumer units and extensions to circuits in kitchens, bathrooms and outdoors. This is to protect both current residents, and also those who may live there in the future.

8.5 We recognize that sub-standard electrical installation work and failings in workmanship can and do result in death, injury and loss of property through fire. Part P was introduced to reduce electrical accidents in the home and the number of unqualified. electricians undertaking domestic electrical installation work. It was also intended to improve the average level of competence and responsibility of those undertaking electrical work, as well as raise the awareness of builders and householders of the need for care. Whilst the number of deaths remains largely the same from before the introduction of Part P, the number of non-fatal electric shock injuries has been significantly reduced, since they were brought into force.

9. What are the Objections to Part P?

Our members are not all supporters of Part P.

The proposal to water down or scrap Part P follows comments on the Government’s “Your Freedom”. website. Key complaints were:

Regulations are too costly, bureaucratic and restrictive;

Regulations are not enforced so electricians who comply are undercut by unqualified “cowboys”;

Competent DIYers must pay to have work inspected, or pay to have work carried out; and

People have low awareness of Part P, allowing those who are not registered to abuse the system.

10. Industry Proposals for Reforming Part P

10.1 Working with industry partners, the Electrical Safety Council recently formed a working group to collectively identify how Part P would be amended to make it an even more effective tool for promoting electrical safety. We agree with their recommendations that the Government consider proposals to:

Slim down the regulation by discontinuing the separate “defined competence”. self-certification scheme. The scheme, designed for those that undertake limited electrical work as a small part of their main business (eg those fitting electric gates) has caused confusion, and attracted relatively few registrants (only about 3% of the total).

Reduce the administrative burden and remove certification by building control bodies. The responsibility of checking work carried out by householders should pass from the local authority, to a system of third party certification already developed by Part P scheme operators. Competition will also help to drive down costs. We have already referred to this issue above.

Reduce the overall cost of certification. Although the costs associated with self-certification by competent persons are considered reasonable and proportionate for both consumers and contractors, at an estimated £11 per notification, the building control fees are disproportionate, particularly for minor works, at £200 per certificate. Homeowners should be permitted to employ a competent person to inspect, test and certify installation work, as an alternative to inspection by a building control body. We believe that a system needs to be devised outside the building control authority to enforce the regulations. As we have already explained Part P is outside the day to day competence of building control departments of local authorities in our view.

11. The Way Forward

11.1 We believe that it is vital to keep down the burden of regulation and consequent costs so long as this does not lead to increased risk of injury, death or property damage. We do not consider that there is a case for extending the inspection regime for electricity safety more widely than at present. We agree that Part P should be retained as the primary policing method in the domestic sector generally but every effort needs to be made to lighten the burden of Part P wherever practicable. The recommendations of the Electrical Safety Council take this agenda forward.

12. Conclusion

12.1 For the reasons outlined we believe that there is no case applying the building regulations to gas installation and repairs. This is already covered under the Gas Safety Regulations. So far as electricity is concerned we do not advocate the abolition of Part P but instead its simplification. We do not believe that it is appropriate to extend current routine inspection regimes.

January 2012

Prepared 29th March 2012