Scottish contractors to gain from new rules

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Scottish contractors to gain from new regs

NICEIC-registered contractors in Scotland are recognised as satisfying statutory guidance in a new law that will see landlords obliged to carry out electrical safety inspections on privately rented properties at least every five years.

The new legislation comes into eff ect from 1 December 2015 and is designed to reduce the number of domestic fires caused by electrical faults. The off icial guidance on the ruling and what it means for landlords in Scotland was off icially launched by housing and welfare minister Margaret Burgess in February.

From December anyone carrying out an electrical safety inspection for a landlord must be employed by a firm that is registered with NICEIC or a member firm of the Electrical Contractors’ Association of Scotland (SELECT).

Emma Clancy, CEO at NICEIC, said: “The private rented sector in Scotland has grown significantly in the past decade, yet many of the homes available in the sector fail to meet the Scottish Housing Quality Standard.

“This is an important piece of legislation that will ensure electrical standards are driven up within the sector. Landlords will now have a responsibility to ensure that installations for the supply of electricity, electrical fixtures and fittings and appliances are all up to a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order. They will also have to ensure that inspections are carried out by a registered competent person.”

All inspections must be carried out before a tenancy starts and at intervals of no more than five years. It is not a requirement to carry out a new inspection every time a new tenancy starts as long as an inspection has taken place in the previous five years.

Any element of the inspection that is classified as an immediate danger will need to be rectified to the required repairing standard. An electrical safety certificate must also be provided and a copy given to any new tenant.

In addition to making sure the installation, supply and fittings are safe the inspection must also include a portable appliance test to assess the safety of any appliances provided by the landlord. Any appliance that fails the test must be removed, replaced or repaired.

“NICEIC has regularly campaigned for tougher laws surrounding electrical safety in the home and we are delighted to be working with the Scottish government on this significant step forward,” added Clancy.

FREE THERMAL IMAGING SEMINARS

Fluke is off ering a series of free thermography seminars, held throughout the UK and Ireland, over the rest of 2015.

The seminars are designed to highlight how thermal imaging can be used to identify the presence of faults in equipment under normal working conditions, in new or existing installations.

Each seminar will cover: the diff erence between a visual image and a thermal image and what that means for finding latent electrical defects such as bad connections; an understanding of some limitations of thermal imaging; and an introduction to the common types of electrical defects in high, medium and low voltage that can be detected with a thermal imager.

For more information see www.flukeacademy.shuttlepod.org/UK-seminars

BOOKS UPDATED TO AMENDMENT 3

Did you know that all NICEIC, ECA and ELECSA publications have now been updated to include amendment 3 regulations?

The third amendment to BS 7671: 2008, The IET Wiring Regulations, came into eff ect on 1 January.

Electrical contractors are now in a six-month transition period to get up to speed with the changes as from 1 July it will be a requirement that all electrical installations designed after 30 June 2015 comply with BS 7671: 2008, incorporating Amendment 3: 2015.

Popular books such as the Site Guide; Inspection, Testing & Certification; Domestic Periodic Inspection Testing & Reporting; and From the Helpline have now been updated and edited to incorporate amendment 3.

Additionally, all the books in our Snags and Solutions series (earthing and bonding, wiring systems, inspection and testing, emergency lighting and domestic fire detection) have been brought up to date.

The books are available individually or as part of a bundle package delivering more great savings. To find the publication best suited to your needs visit www.niceicdirect.com