PAT combines a visual inspection with electrical tests (earth continuity, insulation resistance) on portable appliances provided in communal areas and furnished lets — the kettles, toasters, microwaves, fridges and vacuum cleaners residents actually use.
Where providers supply appliances, they must be maintained in a safe condition. Faulty portable appliances are a common ignition source; a labelled, logged annual test programme is cheap assurance and clean audit evidence.
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.
Regulatory frameworks differ across the UK — see the city pages below for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland specifics.
No law says 'PAT annually' — the legal duty is to maintain equipment safely, and inspection/testing at a risk-based frequency is how you demonstrate it. Annual testing of communal appliances is the accepted norm.
Everything the provider supplies with a plug: kettles, toasters, microwaves, fridges, washing machines, vacuum cleaners, lamps — in communal areas and furnished or supported lets.
It's removed from use immediately, labelled, and repaired or replaced — Kaarr raises the replacement task and updates the property inventory in the same step.
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.
Local guides for housing providers across the UK
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