Housing associations, managing agents and inspection companies working in London run PAT programmes under England's regulatory framework. Here's what applies, how often it's due, and how local providers manage it with Kaarr.
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require electrical equipment to be maintained to prevent danger; the IET Code of Practice sets the risk-based approach to inspection and testing frequency. In Scotland's private rented sector, appliances supplied with the tenancy fall under the Repairing Standard's electrical safety duties.
London has 33 local authorities (32 boroughs plus the City of London), and each enforces housing standards, HMO licensing and any additional or selective licensing on its own terms. Schemes differ borough by borough, and a few cover the whole borough, so a London portfolio often answers to several regimes at once.
The London Fire Brigade is the fire and rescue authority and enforces the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 across the capital.
Stock ranges from Victorian and Edwardian conversions to 1960s-70s estates and a large number of high-rise blocks. Buildings of 18 metres or seven storeys and above fall within the Building Safety Act 2022 higher-risk regime, which adds duties on top of the routine inspection cycle.
Waltham Forest is one London borough that puts a test interval on landlord-supplied appliances. Its selective licence conditions of December 2023 require the licence holder to obtain an electrical appliance test report for all appliances the landlord provides every 30 months, and to give a copy to the council within 21 days of a request. Newham's selective licence conditions, in the version published for consultation, also require a test report for landlord-provided appliances but set no interval, with a copy to be provided within 28 days on demand. These conditions cover appliances provided in lettings, so they do not by themselves set a testing cycle for communal-area equipment. Landlords should check the conditions on each current licence, as the interval and the scheme can change.
The workflow, report template and scheduling for PAT are the same in every city. See how Kaarr runs PAT, then book a demo with your London stock in mind.
London is in England, so the governing framework is: Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 · IET Code of Practice. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require electrical equipment to be maintained to prevent danger; the IET Code of Practice sets the risk-based approach to inspection and testing frequency. In Scotland's private rented sector, appliances supplied with the tenancy fall under the Repairing Standard's electrical safety duties.
There's no fixed statutory interval for PAT: the law requires electrical equipment to be maintained safely, with risk-based inspection frequency. For communal appliances in shared and supported housing — kettles, toasters, microwaves, white goods — annual combined inspection and testing is the standard Kaarr schedules.
A 30-minute demo with your own inspection types and stock profile. No obligation, no setup required.