How Much Does a Landlord Electrical Safety Certificate Cost?
Everyone in countries like the United Kingdom needs electricity as an essential aspect of their day-to-day living. Although there is no doubt that this access to electricity comes with countless benefits, it’s essential not to forget just how dangerous it can be if it is not looked after properly. In the worst of scenarios, faulty electrics can be fatal if the correct safety measures aren’t implemented. That is why landlord electrical safety certificates are essential. The cost of obtaining an Electrical Safety Certificate in the UK ranges between £150 – £240 for an average sized home, but this can vary depending on location and the size of the house. This can reach to over £500 for a 5+ bedroom home.
If you would like to read more information or learn more about the pricing of business landlord insurance, you can do so here .
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How Much Does a Landlord Electrical Safety Certificate Cost?
How Much Does a Landlord Electrical Safety Certificate Cost ?
1 Bedroom Flat:
£125
2 Bedroom Flat:
£150
2 Bedroom House:
£175
3 Bedroom House:
£200
4 Bedroom House:
£250
5 Bedroom House:
£300+
Everyone in countries like the United Kingdom needs electricity as an essential aspect of their day-to-day living. Although there is no doubt that this access to electricity comes with countless benefits, it’s essential not to forget just how dangerous it can be if it is not looked after properly. In the worst of scenarios, faulty electrics can be fatal if the correct safety measures aren’t implemented.
It might sound crazy, but almost every other house fire in the UK is caused by faulty wiring. That’s right, nearly half! This is why not having regular checks for safety can threaten your belongings, your property, and your life. More than 65 people die every year from faulty wiring, so this needs to be taken care of.
When you consider these terrible consequences of not maintaining electrical safety, the cost of an electrical safety certificate is minuscule. This helps to ensure the continued safety of your building’s occupants and ensure you comply with home insurance requirements that more providers set out. On top of this, your property will be deemed a lot safer, so if you ever decide to sell it, having an electrical safety certificate will help out that process a lot.
Are Landlord Electrical Safety Certificates Essential?
It is not just your lives and the people you live with that need to care for either. If you are a landlord, you have a duty of care to your tenants to ensure that the property you’re providing them with is safe for them to live or conduct business in. There are government regulations in place on essential matters such as electrical safety, so moral and financial factors compel you to get an electrical safety certificate and, in many cases, a legal one.
Don’t be too put off by the idea of having to fork out extra cash to get these essential steps done. Electrical safety checks aren’t as expensive as you probably think, and knowing you’re keeping people safe is more than enough to compensate for the price.
Although we can say that most people overestimate how much their certificate costs are going to be, there are a few factors that affect what the final price will be for each person. Some of the things that affect how much you’ll pay include:
The accessibility of your electrics
How complex your electrical circuit board is
Your electrician’s hourly rate and what their level of qualifications is
The number of appliances you have in your home that have to be tested
The overall size of your home
The starter price of a standard electrical safety check typically comes in at around £215. You can expect something closer to the £265 mark for a landlord’s electrical safety certificate. These are just ballpark estimates, though. You will get far more accurate prices by calling a local tradesperson who can ask you a few questions and let you know how much they will charge.
Once you have decided that you need to get an electrical safety check done, there will be several necessary steps to get your certificate. It all starts with a discussion with an electrician. They will ask you about how old your home is, what prior issues you may have had and in some cases, a visit to your property so they can take a look at the electrics themselves to provide the most accurate quote possible.
How is a Landlord Electrical Safety Certificate Obtained?
The electrician will test the necessary things such as lighting, power sockets, appliances and other fixings to check that they are safe to use on the day. They will then set about identifying circuit hazards, such as electrical connections and potentially faulty appliances. A critical step is also making sure that there aren’t any overloaded outlets. Next, they will check your fuse board and test that everything is in order. Not every tradesperson will do so, but it’s also fairly common to check the properties fire alarms to be safe.
In countries like the United Kingdom, a government-sanctioned standard must be met, and the check isn’t completed until that point. When that point has been met, the relevant body is sent a written summary of the check.
This process and its price are separate from the actual task and cost of fixing the faults found if there are any. Many people say it is best to think of it like an MOT, where you are paying the base rate for the inspection, and then with the information given to you; you can decide whether you need to ask and pay for more work.
The whole check process should rarely take longer than a day. Even a day is only what you should expect if your property is large and old. Newer, smaller builds can generally be safely checked in just a few hours. This is because it is less challenging for an electrician to inspect more modern wiring, and if there’s less of it, as there tends to be in smaller houses, they can finish off their job quicker.
Landlord Electrical Safety Certificate – To Conclude
Remember that having an up to date electrical safety certificate and an electrical installation condition report (EICR) is a legal requirement for landlords in the properties that they rent out. Legal fines for not having done this can reach up to £30,000! If that’s not financial motivation enough, insurance companies, in most cases, aren’t going to want to cover your properties for fire or electrical damage if you’re not taking the necessary steps to prevent these things from happening. Getting your landlord electrical safety certificate will do a lot to smooth out the process of trying to get any insurance sorted out on your property.
You can not conduct these official checks yourself nor get the certificate without a certified electrician, but it is helpful to keep an eye on things yourself whenever you can.
How Much Does a Landlord Electrical Safety Certificate Cost? – Other useful links about Business Insurance:
Multi-Property Landlord Insurance
Cheap Landlord Insurance
Commercial Landlord Insurance
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