Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020

Considered in Grand Committee

Moved by

That the Grand Committee do consider the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020.

My Lords, this Government are committed to ensuring that all tenants live in safe, secure and high-quality properties. These important regulations help deliver that commitment for private tenants. Private landlords make an extremely valuable contribution to the housing market. The majority of landlords in England provide well-maintained and safe accommodation for their tenants, allowing them to put down roots, work and thrive in their communities. However, some landlords wilfully flout their responsibilities and put their tenants at a significant risk of harm as a result. This is not acceptable. These regulations will target those irresponsible and unscrupulous landlords and will help to level the playing field for the majority of good landlords who already meet this requirement. As a result, the regulations will help to drive up safety and standards across the private rented sector and reduce deaths and injuries caused by electrical faults.

The numbers are telling. In 2016-17, 16 people died and 871 were injured in England as a result of electrical fires in the home. In a five-year period, the London Fire Brigade dealt with 748 fires caused by electrics. In the same period, only 97 fires it dealt with in London were caused by gas. Only 60% of homes in the private rented sector have all the recommended electrical safety features installed, compared with 75% of homes in the social rented sector. This amounts to a compelling case for change.

These regulations will require all landlords to have the electrical installations in their properties inspected and tested by a qualified and competent person at least every five years. Good landlords already keep the electrics in their properties safe, but there are those who avoid doing this and undercut the good ones. They will now have to comply and better protect the safety of their tenants. If they do not like it, they can leave the business. The regulations will also require landlords to provide a copy of the electrical safety report to their tenants, and to their local authority if requested, to give tenants the information they need for their peace of mind and to support local authority enforcement.

But what about those landlords who decide to continue to flout the law and put their tenants at risk of electrocution and perhaps even fire? These regulations will provide local authorities with strong enforcement powers to tackle this minority of landlords. Local authorities will be able legally to require landlords to carry out vital remedial works. If landlords still do not comply, the council will be able to arrange the works and recover the cost from the landlord.

Local authorities will also be able to request proof from landlords that the electrical installations in their property are in fact safe. If a landlord has to carry out essential remedial work, they must let their local authority know. There will be a serious penalty for landlords who do not comply with the requirements—requirements that they should already be meeting. Local authorities will have the power to issue financial penalties of up to £30,000; it will be for them to decide the level of penalty. They can see the severity of the issue and will know best how to tackle irresponsible landlords in their areas.

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his thorough introduction to these long-overdue regulations, which I welcome. Before I go any further, I declare an interest as a patron of the charity Electrical Safety First. It has been campaigning for many years—longer than I have been involved with it—for these regulations, which they too very much welcome.

I have a few questions and points of concern, the first of which relates to the current state that the country—indeed, the world—is in. The regulations are due to come into effect for new tenancies, as I understand it, from 1 July, with guidance to local authorities being issued during June. As I said, the regulations are long overdue; it is very important that they go ahead. However, given the crisis affecting everybody in the country—not least local authorities—how confident can the Minister and his department be that we will be able to stick to the implementation dates, particularly 1 July, but also the later date for existing tenancies? I urge the Government to do everything possible to ensure that they stick to those implementation dates and that proper guidance is issued beforehand.

My principal concern about these regulations relates to enforcement. Here, I again declare an interest as a vice-president of the Local Government Association. Also, although this is no longer a declarable interest, I was a London borough councillor for 40 years and a council leader for 13 years. My concern—I have much experience of this—is that Governments are sometimes good at giving power but no good at all at providing the resources necessary to enforce it. I am pleased that local authorities will have the enforcement power, but I hope the Minister can assure me they will have the financing and capacity to carry out that enforcement effectively. What discussions have the Government had with the Local Government Association, and particularly with the professional bodies, to ensure that local authorities have sufficient environmental health officers to carry out the enforcement duties effectively?

Do the Government recognise that this is an additional burden on local authorities—albeit a welcome one as far as I am concerned—and what additional finance is being provided to meet it? I am sure the answer will be the one I have heard many times over the years: that it is included in the general government settlement. However, we can never find any specific reference to that.

Of greater concern to me than finance—the financial position of local authorities is well known—is capacity. Will there be enough able and competent environmental health officers to carry out these necessary duties? Can the Minister confirm that local authorities will retain 100% of the fines they impose and collect? Experience has taught me that their ability to raise money acts as a considerable incentive to carry out enforcement, so I hope so.

I turn to a particular point that was raised with me. Although all the professional bodies, including Electrical Safety First, believe that this legislation is completely fit for purpose, I understand that some landlords are concerned about some of its language, particularly what is meant by

“the eighteenth edition of the Wiring Regulations”.

Can the Minister explain why it mentions this standard, and can he assure landlords that this does not impose any further burdens on them, such as the need to rewire, so long as their properties are safe in the first place?

I am told that some landlords are concerned that the legislation may create a temporary loophole in safety legislation for houses in multiple occupation. Can the Minister clarify that there will be no such safety gaps for tenants in these properties and no reason, therefore, to delay the legislation’s introduction?

Finally, in his letter to me, and no doubt to other Peers, of 17 January confirming that the regulations had been laid, the then Minister, the noble Viscount, Lord Younger of Leckie—who I am pleased to see is in his place, although I believe in a different role—said:

“I strongly believe that everyone deserves a decent and safe place to live, regardless of tenure.”

We would all agree with that, but will the Minister tell us what plans the Government have to provide similar protection for tenants in the social rented sector?

That is all I have to say, other than to welcome these long-overdue regulations.