PAT Testing in Mill Hill

PAT Testing in Mill Hill: what is different here

Which NW7 lets actually supply appliances

Private renting accounted for 26.5% of households across Mill Hill ward in the 2021 Census, but that covers very different lets. A family renting a semi close to Mill Hill Broadway, or out towards The Hale, usually brings its own kettle, toaster and television, leaving the landlord with the cooker, fridge-freezer and washing machine.

A furnished one-bed at Millbrook Park, near Mill Hill East station, may come with microwave, lamps and a vacuum as well. A shared house carries the most: every room's lamp, a communal kitchen of small appliances and often a dryer. Testing is worth most where you supply most.

Barnet's licence and the declaration on demand

Barnet's additional licence, which reaches any house where three or more people from more than one household share, applies across the borough until 27 October 2027. Under Schedule 4 of the Housing Act, a licence must make its holder responsible for the safety of any electrical appliances and furniture provided, and for handing Barnet a signed safety declaration whenever it asks.

A dated PAT register is the obvious document to back that declaration. Schedule 4 does not set a testing interval, and HSE confirms there is no legal requirement to test annually.

Integrated appliances in Millbrook Park kitchens

Most new-build kitchens at Millbrook Park hide the fridge, freezer, dishwasher and washer-dryer behind cabinet doors, with their plugs in cupboards or fed through switched fused spurs above the worktop. We test them where the plug or isolator can be reached safely, record any that cannot be tested without removing the unit, and note the reason on the register.

Built-in ovens and hobs are hard-wired and fall under the EICR instead. If the appliances are still under manufacturer or developer warranty, that is worth recording too.

Shared houses in the big interwar semis

Around the Broadway, 70.2% of homes date from 1919 to 1939, and the larger semis make roomy shared houses. Their kitchens collect extension leads, multi-way adaptors and second-hand appliances bought by previous tenants. We test only what you supply, but we will point out items left behind by past tenants that you may now be treated as providing, and adaptors plugged into adaptors. Those are the faults that a Barnet inspection is likely to notice.

Setting a sensible interval

With no fixed legal frequency, base the interval on how hard the items are used. In a Barnet shared house, testing at each change of occupiers or yearly is a reasonable rhythm. In an unfurnished family let, whether a Mill Hill Village cottage or a Broadway semi, testing the white goods at the start of each tenancy is usually enough. Tie the dates to the licence renewal so the register is current when Barnet's scheme ends or is renewed in October 2027.

Garden and garage kit in the bigger houses

Detached houses were home to 18.8% of Mill Hill ward's households in 2021, and the appraisal describes substantial houses in secluded grounds along Nan Clarks Lane and Highwood Hill. When houses like these are let, the landlord sometimes leaves a mower, a hedge trimmer, a pressure washer or a chest freezer in the garage.

Outdoor equipment takes the hardest wear of anything we test: cut and taped cables, cracked plugs and extension reels used while still wound up. If you supply it, it belongs on the register; if you would rather not be responsible for it, remove it before the tenancy begins and say so in the inventory.

Official sources

• legislation.gov.uk: Housing Act 2004, Schedule 4 (mandatory licence conditions)
• Health and Safety Executive: do landlords have to test appliances? (PAT FAQ)
• London Property Licensing: Barnet schemes and consultation
• Nomis: Census 2021 TS054 tenure, Mill Hill ward (Barnet)
• Valuation Office Agency: dwellings by build period in the Mill Hill MSOAs, March 2025 (CTSOP4.1)
• Barnet Council: property licensing and HMOs

Last reviewed October 2026 by EliteShires Property Services.