If you are a landlord then generally you will supply your tenants with appliances such as fridges, washing machines and electric kettles as part of the tenancy agreement. As I'm sure you are aware The Landlord and Tenancy Act 1985, you are required to ensure that these appliances are safe for continued use.
The Electrical Safety Council recommends that such appliances are tested either by a business competent in PAT or an electrician that is registered with an industry recognised accreditation like NICEIC. This should be at the start of each tenancy and at regular intervals during any long term tenancy.
The checks that need to be carried out will include an inspection to ensure the following;
1) connections inside a plug are correct and secure
2) the fuse inside a plug is of the correct rating
3) no bare wires are visible other than at the terminals inside the plug and appliance
4) There is no sign of internal damage, overheating or entry of liquid, dust or dirt
The competent person carrying out the testing for you will use a portable appliance test instrument to check the electrical condition of the appliances you have and supply you will a portable appliance safety certificate when testing is complete and all items are agreed safe. In some cases you will also be issued an asset register on each of the items tested for your records.
With most fatalities in the home by electric shock being caused by appliances, faulty plugs and leads, I'm sure you agree the importance of such testing. In fact whether your a landlord or not shouldn't we all be thinking about having such testing at work and at our homes on a regular basis considering we all use these type of appliances in our everyday life? Just think how often do you put the kettle on to make you and your colleague a cuppa in the office or you and your family use the hair dryer or toaster at home?
Have you had PAT in the your office or at home?
No comments:
Post a Comment