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Safety of Goods for
Landlords and Letting Agencies in Rented Accommodation
Who should read
this?
Anyone who lets residential furnished
accommodation (such as houses, flats and bedsits, holiday homes, caravans and
boats) as a business activity. This includes Letting Agents, Estate Agents and
private landlords. Often letting agents as well as landlords are liable if
goods supplied with the tenancy are not of the standard required by law.
What you should
do
- Ensure that all checks are carried out prior
to the tenancy. This is important as the supply of goods occurs at the time of
the tenancy contract.
- Keep a record of the goods supplied as part of
the tenancy agreement and of checks made on those goods. The record should
indicate who carried out the checks and when they did it.
- It is advisable to have electrical equipment
checked by a qualified electrician before the start of each let. It would be
good practice to have the equipment checked at regular intervals thereafter. It
is wise to retain test reports detailing the equipment, the tests carried out
and the results.
- The Gas Safety (Installation & Use)
Regulations 1998 contain requirements relating to the installation and use of
gas appliances. The Regulations are enforced by the Health and Safety
Executive. Further information can be obtained by contacting the HSE Safety
Advice Line on 0800 300363.
It is a legal requirement for all gas appliances to be checked by a CORGI
registered person every 12 months and for a record of the check to be made
available to tenants.
What goods am I
responsible for?
- Electrical Equipment. The
Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 1994 state that all mains
electrical equipment, new or second-hand, supplied with the accommodation must
be safe. If it complies with an acceptable standard, e.g. a British/European
Standard, then it will normally meet safety requirements.
These safety requirements cover: labelling, construction, design, and
manufacture insulation and earthing protection from electric shock adequate
guards for radiant heaters or moving parts the need to provide instructions for
safe use.
- Plugs and Sockets. The
Plugs and Sockets (Safety) Regulations 1994 require electrical appliances
to be correctly fitted with an approved plug with sleeved pins. All plugs
should carry the name and reference number of the approved body, normally BSI
or ASTA. The plug does not have to be moulded on but it must have the correct
fuse for the appliance.
All sockets (e.g. on mains extension leads), adaptors and similar devices must
meet British or European Standards.
- Electric Fireguards. The distance between the
bars and the strength of the guard are laid down in standards.
- The fireguard is satisfactory if any vertical
bars are 5mm or less apart.
- Otherwise the guard must not have an
opening with :
- a major dimension exceeding 125mm, a minor
dimension exceeding 12mm and a diagonal dimension exceeding 126mm, or
- a major dimension exceeding 50mm, a minor
dimension exceeding 20mm and a diagonal dimension exceeding 53mm.
- Electric Blankets. It is best not to supply
second-hand electric blankets, as their history, usage and condition may be
unknown.
- Gas Cookers. The Gas Cooking Appliances
(Safety) Regulations 1989 apply to second-hand gas cookers. They must:
- have legible and durable markings on the
controls;
- be marked with the manufacturers or importers
name;
- have adequate pan supports;
- have tap handles which are easy to operate,
but not liable to be turned on accidentally;
- ignite promptly;
- have oven doors which seal in hot gases;
- have instructions for safe use.
They must not have:
- sharp edges;
- a casing which gets hot enough to cause
injury.
- Gas & Oil Heater Fireguards. The
Heating Appliances (Fireguards) (Safety) Regulations 1991 state that
fireguards on gas fires and oil heaters must comply with British Standards or
the European equivalent.
Oil heaters & second-hand gas fires which do not satisfy specific design
criteria involving the hearth and installation instructions must be fitted with
a guard which:
- does not permit a 35mm diameter probe to touch
the heated radiants or the flame
- has no gap larger than 150 x 35mm and no
diameter of a gap larger than 154mm unless it is not possible to pass a 12mm
diameter probe through the gap or the gap is between vertical rods no greater
than 5mm apart.
- the guard must pass certain strength tests.
- Gas Catalytic Heaters. The Gas Catalytic
Heaters (Safety) Regulations 1984 prohibits the supply of these heaters if
they contain asbestos.
- Paraffin Heaters. The Oil Heaters (Safety)
Regulations 1977 apply to paraffin heaters and control cover stability,
flame extinction & labelling.
- Glazing. The Construction Products
Regulations 1991 General Product Safety Regulations 1994. Building
Regulations control safety glazing in low level and other critical areas when
the glazing is part of new building work whether on new or existing buildings.
However if you are buying replacement glazing you should consider the
suitability of safety glazing in critical areas as General Product Safety
Regulations apply.
- Other Appliances and Equipment. The General Product Safety Regulations 1994 will apply to all
equipment and items not covered by specific regulations. You must ensure that
all items you supply with the accommodation are safe. This will include
supplying warnings and instructions with the items where they are necessary for
the safe use of the items.
Please Note
This leaflet is not an authoritative
interpretation of the law and is intended only for guidance. For further
information please contact your local Consumer Protection or
Trading Standards office.
Trading Standards Division, 3rd Floor, Wallasey Town Hall, Brighton Street, Wallasey, Wirral CH44 8ED
Telephone: (0151) 691 8020 Fax: (0151) 691 8098
Internet World Wide Web http://www.tradingstandards.gov.uk/wirral/
Electronic Mail: tradingstandards@wirral.gov.uk
Copyright © Wirral Trading Standards Division 2007 |