Residential landlords provide tenants with any number of portable electrical devices in their tenancy contract. They need to check for its safety as per the law. It is advisable to conduct regular safety checks on appliances which become part of the rental agreements.

This is because the landlord can be held responsible in the face of an injury by way of an electric shock or if the appliances become defective. The UK is no stranger to fires caused by electrical devices. Close to 20 percent of these are caused by faulty electric equipments that end up in a short circuit. Government statistics suggests that more than 14,000 Britons suffer varying degrees of injuries due to problems with their electrical appliances.

The UK’s Electrical Safety Council has issued that we will be held responsible if tenants are injured due to defective appliances found in the rental properties.

It can prove costly for us as such injuries can mean rejection of insurance policy, apart from the major fines and criminal prosecution. The best way to avoid this mess is to sign the portable appliance testing (PAT) at regular intervals. This inexpensive testing can be done using dedicated testing equipment. It is better to be safe than sorry.

Now criminal convictions of tenants can have serious consequences for a landlord’s insurance cover.

7.3 million people with criminal convictions are present in the UK and many likely to be the tenant population. Undeclared unspent convictions have the potential to be material facts in the assessment of risk resulting in invalidated insurance cover, if the crime has any relevance to the policy risk.

This is because insurance contracts are based on the principle of ‘uberrima fides’ (utmost good faith) on both parties involved in the contract. So the duty of full disclosure lies with the landlord who is the policy holder.

There is lot of uncertainty and confusion among landlords. So, what can we do as landlords? Do we ask the question in the tenancy application form, include a disclosure clause in the tenancy agreement, or just simply ignore it?

Some smart home insurers have an outright policy of not insuring people with unspent criminal convictions; irrespective of the relevance.

I feel this has stirred up quite a hornet’s nest. One has to decide between actively seeking the information from the tenant and thereby getting the insurers remove to the cover or just ignoring the issue.

More clarification is needed from the insurers to prevent landlords being effectively uninsured.