PAT Testing across North West London

What is the landlord's legal duty?

The appliances you supply with a let property must be safe. That comes from consumer protection law, under which goods supplied to consumers in the course of a business must be safe (trading standards apply this to furnished lettings), and from the general duty of care a landlord owes to tenants. The Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 are often quoted, but they govern manufacturers, importers and distributors placing equipment on the market rather than setting a testing schedule for landlords. The five-yearly check of supplied appliances in the 2020 electrical safety regulations applies to social landlords, not private ones. No regulation says "PAT test annually". What a test gives you is documented evidence, per appliance, that it was checked and found safe on a given date, which is exactly what you want if a tenant is ever injured by something you supplied.

What gets tested?

Anything you supply that plugs in: kettle, toaster, microwave, washing machine, tumble dryer, fridge and freezer, oven where it is plugged rather than hard-wired, vacuum, lamps, extension leads. Each item gets a visual inspection, earth continuity and insulation resistance testing where applicable, a pass or fail, and a dated label.

What you get

A certificate, an asset register listing every item with its test result, and labelled appliances. Failed items are either taken out of service or, where the fault is a plug, fuse or lead, repaired on the spot and retested. We tell you which is which rather than simply condemning things.

HMOs and furnished lets

For an HMO, or any heavily furnished let, testing at the start of each tenancy and then periodically is the sensible standard, and some local authority licensing schemes expect it. If your property is licensed, check the licence conditions. They may specify an interval, in which case that interval is what applies to you.

Offices, shops and other workplaces

If you employ people, the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require electrical equipment that could cause danger to be maintained in a safe condition, but they do not say how or how often, and they do not require a test every year. HSE's leaflet for low-risk workplaces such as offices and shops (INDG236) says not every item needs a portable appliance test. Double-insulated equipment, marked with a square inside a square, needs user checks and visual inspection instead. For earthed items such as kettles it suggests a combined inspection and test every one to two years as a starting point, and for desktop computers that are not double insulated, up to five years. Labels and records are not a legal requirement, though they make the next check quicker. HSE also says the person doing the test should not decide when the next one is due: the employer sets that on a risk basis. We give you the results and HSE's starting intervals, and you set the schedule.

Honest advice

If you let an unfurnished property and supply no appliances, you very likely do not need this and we will tell you so. We would rather turn down the job than sell you a certificate for appliances you do not own.

Who is this for?

Landlords letting furnished property, HMO licence holders, agents who need documented evidence for a file, and offices and shops that want their equipment checked against HSE's guidance.

Which mistakes do we see most often?

Testing appliances the tenant owns, which is neither your responsibility nor useful to you. And treating PAT as an annual legal requirement when it is not. The duty is that what you supply is safe, under consumer protection law and your general duty of care, and testing is how you evidence it. Check your HMO licence conditions, because some do specify an interval and that condition binds you.

Why people trust us

• Appliances tested, labelled and recorded one by one, with the result for each on the register
• A walk-in office on Kenton Lane, not a serviced address
• Failed items repaired and retested, or taken out of service
• A time slot rather than a morning-or-afternoon window
• Work photographed before and after, and reported
• We tell you when you do not need something we sell

We are building a review profile under this name and would rather show you none than borrow someone else's. Ask us for references from landlords and we will put you in touch.