Do landlords need PAT testing?

The rules at a glance

“Fixed wiring” is the electrical installation: wiring, sockets, light fittings and the consumer unit. “Appliances” are the items with a plug or flex that the landlord provides, such as a fridge, cooker or microwave.

England

The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 (the 2020 regulations, renamed when they were extended in 2025) require landlords to have every electrical installation inspected and tested by a qualified person before a tenancy starts and at intervals of no more than 5 years, or sooner if the last report says so (regulation 3). MHCLG’s guidance says the inspection covers the fixed parts: wiring, sockets, light fittings and the consumer unit, plus permanently connected equipment such as showers and extractors.

Social landlords. The 2025 amending regulations extended the rules to registered providers of social housing and added a duty for equipment they provide. Each item must be checked by a qualified person before the tenancy starts and at regular intervals: no more than 5 years, or sooner if the last record says so (new regulation 3B). The check is whatever visual inspection or testing the qualified person considers necessary, and the result goes on an In-service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment (ISIT) record. MHCLG’s guidance gives cookers, fridges and microwaves as examples and says checks apply regardless of the age of the equipment. For social housing tenancies granted before 1 December 2025, the guidance says equipment had to be checked before 1 November 2026.

Private landlords. MHCLG’s guidance places the equipment checks on social landlords only. That does not make appliances someone else’s problem: if a home is a licensed HMO or under selective licensing, Schedule 4 of the Housing Act 2004 requires the licence to include conditions that the licence holder keeps electrical appliances and furniture they make available in a safe condition, and supplies the council on demand with a declaration about their safety. Your licence may contain other conditions too, so check it.

Scotland

Under the Repairing Standard (section 13 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006), fixtures, fittings and appliances a landlord provides must be in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order. The Scottish Government’s statutory guidance (Annex D3) turns that into a routine:

• An electrical safety inspection, made up of periodic inspection and testing of the installation and in-service inspection and testing of electrical equipment (“also known as PAT testing”), before the property is first let and then at intervals of no more than five years (paragraph D.56).
• The retest date for appliances is usually set during the test “and will usually be more frequent than five years”; if the skilled person recommends more frequent checks, the landlord should follow that advice (paragraph D.83).
• Equipment includes white goods, brown goods such as televisions, electric fires that are not fixed, kettles, toasters, hairdryers and any other appliance the landlord provides that is not permanently connected (paragraph D.75). Tenants’ own appliances are not included (D.82).
• Items bought new less than a year before the test need not be included, but go on the equipment register with their first test date; second-hand items should be included (D.81).
• Any equipment that fails must be replaced or repaired immediately (D.77).

Wales

The Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022 require a valid electrical condition report for the dwelling, renewed at least every 5 years or sooner if the report says so (regulation 6). That covers installations for the supply of electricity. We found no requirement to test portable appliances in those regulations or in the Welsh Government’s guidance for landlords. The Housing Act 2004 Schedule 4 conditions on appliances apply to licensed HMOs in Wales too.

Northern Ireland

The Electrical Safety Standards for Private Tenancies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024 require fixed electrical installations in private tenancies to be inspected and tested at intervals of no more than 5 years. nidirect says that by law the landlord is responsible for the safety of the electrical system and of “cookers, washing machines, immersion heaters and any other electrical appliances supplied with the tenancy”. We could not find a Northern Ireland rule that sets how often those appliances must be tested.

Holiday lets and Airbnb

• Scotland. Short-term lets need a licence, and a mandatory condition requires the holder to arrange an electrical safety inspection by a competent person at least every five years, an EICR on fixed installations, and a Portable Appliance Testing Report on moveable appliances guests can use, with each inspected appliance date labelled and signed (Schedule 3, paragraph 6 of the 2022 licensing order).
• England. The Home Office’s guide for small paying guest accommodation, issued under the Fire Safety Order, says appliances should be subject to regular checks in line with the manufacturer’s instructions, with a visual check between lets, and that in bed and breakfast and similar accommodation they should get periodic in-house service and testing in line with the IET Code of Practice.
• Wales and Northern Ireland. The Home Office guide says separate guidance applies in Wales. We have not checked the Welsh or Northern Ireland holiday let guidance, so we do not summarise it here.

How Hovermarks handles this

Each property can be a site in Hovermarks and each appliance an asset with its own schedule, so a 5-year cycle or a tester’s shorter retest date sits on the item and you get a reminder before it is due. Results from your tester’s CSV export import against the right appliances. Our QR labels show the appliance and “Scan for live status”. An optional setting adds the test date and the tester’s initials (never a next-due date), and blank labels on the larger roll sizes can carry a “Tested ____ Sign ____” line. Where a rule asks for a dated, signed label, such as Scotland’s short-term let condition, check that this meets it; a tester’s own signed label alongside ours always does. See the PAT testing solution page.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need PAT testing as a landlord in England?

If you are a private landlord, the Electrical Safety Standards regulations require the fixed installation to be inspected and tested at least every 5 years, but set no testing duty for appliances you provide. If your property is a licensed HMO or under selective licensing, the licence must require you to keep appliances you provide in a safe condition and give the council a declaration about their safety on demand. Since the 2025 amendments, social landlords must have each item of equipment they provide checked by a qualified person before the tenancy and at least every 5 years.

How often do landlords in Scotland need PAT testing?

The Scottish Government's statutory guidance on the Repairing Standard says landlords must have an electrical safety inspection, made up of the fixed installation inspection and in-service inspection and testing of electrical equipment (PAT), carried out before the property is first let and then at intervals of no more than five years. It adds that the retest date set during the PAT will usually be more frequent than five years, and the landlord should follow it.

Do I need PAT testing for an Airbnb or holiday let?

In Scotland, yes: a short-term let licence condition requires a competent person to produce a Portable Appliance Testing Report on moveable appliances guests can use, and to date label and sign each one inspected, as part of an electrical safety inspection at least every five years. In England, the Home Office's fire safety guide for small paying guest accommodation says appliances should be regularly checked in line with the manufacturer's instructions and visually checked between lets, and that in bed and breakfast and similar accommodation they should get periodic in-house service and testing in line with the IET Code of Practice. We have not checked the Welsh or Northern Ireland guidance for holiday lets.

Do tenants' own appliances need testing?

No. The Scottish guidance says the duty does not apply to appliances that belong to tenants, only to those provided by the landlord, and MHCLG's guidance for England says tenants are responsible for making sure their own electrical equipment is safe.

Is an EICR the same as PAT testing?

No. An EICR (electrical installation condition report) covers the fixed installation: the wiring, sockets, light fittings and consumer unit. PAT covers equipment with a plug or flex, such as fridges, kettles and microwaves. In Scotland both are part of the landlord's electrical safety inspection; in England social landlords' equipment checks are recorded separately on an ISIT record.

Does new equipment need testing before a tenancy?

In Scotland, the statutory guidance says equipment bought new less than one year before the test does not need to be included, but should be listed in the equipment register with the date its first test is due. Second-hand equipment should be included. In England, MHCLG's guidance for social landlords says checks must be carried out regardless of the age of the equipment.

Related: how often PAT testing is needed, who can do PAT testing, PAT due date checker, property management.