Electrical safety: draft changes due on 30 November 2026
The government has laid draft regulations before Parliament that amend the electrical safety rules for privately rented homes in England. If both Houses approve them, they start on 30 November 2026. A draft can still change before it is made, so treat this as advance notice, not a new deadline.
What the draft would change
- An existing report can cover a new tenancy. The rules now say the electrical installation must be inspected and tested before a tenancy starts, without saying whether an earlier inspection counts. The draft makes clear that it does, if a qualified person carried it out in the five years before the tenancy starts and its report is still current, meaning the date it gives for the next inspection has not passed.
- An updated wiring standard. Inspections would be measured against BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, the 2026 update of the IET Wiring Regulations, in place of BS 7671:2018. Your electrician applies the standard, so there is nothing different for you to do.
- Further investigative work. For inspections on or after 30 November 2026, the rules would no longer refer to further investigative work, to match changes in the wiring standard. The duty to carry out the remedial work a report requires stays, and reports from earlier inspections are still dealt with under the current rules.
What stays the same
Have the installation inspected and tested by a qualified person at least every five years, or sooner if the last report says so. Give a new tenant a copy of the latest report before they move in, and give your tenants each new report within 28 days of the inspection. Carry out any remedial work a report requires within 28 days, or any shorter period the report gives.
What to do now
- Find your current report and note the date it gives for the next inspection.
- Before any new tenancy, check that the inspection was within the last five years and that the date for the next one has not passed. If either has, book an inspection before the tenant moves in.
- If your current report asks for further investigation, arrange it as before, within 28 days or any shorter period the report gives.
In the toolkits. Every RentRight Kit toolkit, and the tenancy agreement on its own, now includes a two page Electrical Safety Update in Word and PDF, in a folder called 00 Latest Updates. It covers the change in more detail, with a checklist of what to do.
Choose your toolkitSource: the draft Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 on legislation.gov.uk, and the 2020 Regulations as they stand, read on 20 October 2026. This note will be updated when the final regulations are made. England only.