Electrical Safety

Electrical Safety – Keeping you Safe.

Poor electrical safety can have devastating effects and government is committed to ensuring that social residents are safe in their homes. The Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017 started with an electrical fire caused by a fridge-freezer in 2020/21 in England, there were sadly 55 deaths resulting from fires ignited by electrical appliances or installations and in the last 10 years there have been 788 fatalities from such fires. Electrical safety issues can be difficult to detect with the naked eye, but there are steps government can take to raise standards and improve safety for social housing residents.

We do not know exactly how many fires occur in social homes, but data provided by the London Fire Brigade shows that a disproportionately high number of electrical fires in London attended by the Fire Investigation Team in the past 5 years, happened in social homes. Between 2015/16 and 2016-17, 2% of social renters had a fire at home over those 2 years, compared with 1% of owner occupiers.

In 2020/21 there were 14,858 accidental electrical dwelling fires in England, 37% of which were caused by faults. Of these 14,858 fires, the 3 most common sources were cooking appliances (56%), electrical distribution (installations, wiring, etc) (19%) and other domestic-style appliances (such as white goods, electronic chargers, etc) (14%).

79% of fires caused by other domestic style appliances are caused by faults.

You can view our Electrical Safety Leaflet above by clicking here.

Electrical Inspection – at least every 5 Years.

At SLH we are responsible for carrying out an electrical inspection at least every 5 years to ensure all electrics in your home are safe. This service checks the safety of all electrical installations in the property, such as light fittings, sockets, and the consumer unit. We will produce a detailed report from the inspection and rectify any faults identified. If you ever notice a problem with any of your electrics contact our customer services team on 0300 303 8540 who will be happy to assist you.

You will be contacted 2 months before the last certificate expires by our contractor BES Group who will arrange a suitable time for the inspection to take place. There may be occasions where there are specialist parts required or more time required for remedial works. If this happens, the engineer will reattend within 10 working days, on a day that suits you to rectify any problems.

This inspection can take 3–4 hours to complete. It would be helpful if you could ensure that the areas surrounding light switches and plug sockets are accessible and clear before the engineer visits. The works are not intrusive, if extensive works are required, we will discuss this with you at the time of attendance.

Will it affect my tenancy if I don’t allow access for an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) to be undertaken?

• Preventing access for these essential works may put your tenancy at risk – it is part of our landlord safety checks to undertake EICR on a regular basis. SLH will identify and rectify any faults that may have appeared over time since the last time the electrics to your property were inspected.
• We will attempt to undertake these inspections as part of the process and work closely with our customers to achieve compliance. If we are unable to complete this work, we will refer to our tenancy management/enforcement team.

Frequently Asked Questions – Electrical Saftey

What is an EICR?

• An Electrical Inspection Condition Report is a check that as your landlord we complete to ensure all electrics are safe within your home. We will produce a detailed report from the inspection and rectify any faults identified.

What will happen when an EICR takes place within my property?

• Our contractor will contact you to arrange an appointment for the works to be undertaken.

How long does an EICR take to complete?

• This inspection can take 3 – 4 hours to complete. The engineer will check every plug socket and fitting within the property. Do I need to prepare before an engineer attends my property?
• It would be helpful if you could ensure that the areas surrounding light switches and plug sockets are accessible and clear to allow the inspection to take place

When will you contact me to advise when an EICR is due?

• These checks are completed every 5 years. You will be contacted 2 months before the current certificate expires.

What if there are works required that are unable to be completed at the visit?

• There may be occasions where there are specialist parts required or more time required for remedial works. If this happens we will arrange an appointment within 5 working days to complete these.