Regulations
What is in force, and what is still a draft
On 5 October 2026 the legislation.gov.uk page for the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2026 says the instrument is a draft and has not yet been made. It states a commencement of 30 November 2026. This page does not treat that draft as the current rules.
Reviewed 5 October 2026 by George Opsenica (Director, Codeex Maintenance Ltd) and George Opsenica (Director, Codeex Maintenance Ltd). General guidance, not a reading of your own report and not legal advice.
What each reviewer checked
- George Opsenica: Source review of the exact draft-status, not-current-law, conditional 30 November 2026, British Standard, existing-report, housing-provider and registered-provider sentences. The draft is not recorded as current law. This is not legal advice. Recheck on 30 November 2026.
- George Opsenica: Owner presentation of this current page. This is not a technical classification and it is not legal advice.
Separate the dates before you change a process
| Question | On 5 October 2026 | Recheck |
|---|---|---|
| Is the 2026 amendment current law? | No. The draft has not yet been made. | 30 November 2026 |
| What does a private landlord use? | The inspection duty already in force for a specified tenancy. | Only if that duty changes |
| Is a housing provider a private landlord? | No. The label does not decide the duty. | The tenancy and the landlord's status |
| Is there a London rule? | This page does not state one. | Do not add a local date |
What to check now
For a specified tenancy in England, the landlord must have the electrical installation inspected and tested by a qualified person before the tenancy begins, and then at intervals of no more than 5 years, or sooner if the latest report requires an earlier date. That sentence is current. It is not a sentence for every housing provider.
The 30 November 2026 draft, which would let an existing report satisfy a new tenancy in more cases, is not current law on 3 October 2026. It is still not current law on 5 October 2026. The draft would also change the British Standard cited in the definition of electrical safety standards. That change is not the rule today. The wiring-regulations history is on the edition guide. This page does not restate it.
A registered provider's transitional dates are on the social-housing page. Do not copy them onto a private let, and do not copy the private-rented interval onto social housing because both words appear in an old headline.
If the draft is later made in the form recorded on legislation.gov.uk on 5 October 2026, it would come into force on 30 November 2026. The recorded draft would change the British Standard cited in the definition of electrical safety standards, and it would let an existing report satisfy a new tenancy in more cases. Neither of those is the rule today. Recheck on 30 November 2026. Do not change a tenancy process on the draft in the meantime.
Today, a private landlord checks the specified tenancy, the report, and the next date the report itself gives. A housing provider is not checked as if the label made them a private landlord. A registered provider uses regulation 3E only for the tenancies that regulation names. Anyone else does not borrow that date.
Private lets start on the landlord page. Registered-provider dates are on the social-housing page. The wiring-regulations history is on the edition page.
Related pages
Do not use the draft as today's rule
Recheck on 30 November 2026. A housing provider is not automatically a private landlord.
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