Electrical Safety

To help prevent electrical accidents in your home, we’ve put together some guidance on how we’re keeping you safe and how you can use electrical appliances and installations responsibly.

How we’re keeping you safe 

If you live in one of our rented homes, we carry out regular electrical safety checks, officially called an Electrical Installation Condition Report, every five years or whenever there’s a change in tenancy.

These checks are a legal requirement and help ensure that the electrical systems in your home remain in a safe and satisfactory condition. When your home is due for testing, we’ll contact you to arrange an appointment.

The inspection usually takes around three to four hours depending on the size of your home and the number of circuits we need to assess. We do need to turn off the power at the main supply while the check is carried out, and we’ll remind you of this when we book the appointment so you can prepare in advance.

If we find any issues during the inspection, there’s no need to worry. Our Compliance Team monitors all risks to customers, colleagues, and homes and ensures that repairs and improvements are carried out promptly.

What you can do to keep safe

• Don’t overload your sockets, you can use this ‘socket calculator’ to check that yours are safe.
• Do visual checks and make sure your plugs, sockets and wires are all in good condition.
• Don’t use the top of the microwave for storage.
• Don’t take any mains powered items into the bathroom.
• Doing DIY? Use this handy guide to keep safe when using electric tools.
• Remember that water and electricity are not friends – keep them away from each other.
• Only use electrical gardening equipment outside when it’s dry.
• If your home has been flooded, don’t use any of the electrics as they could be damaged.
• If you’re using electrical heaters, make sure that they’re kept away from fabrics, paper and furniture to stop a fire from breaking out.