A housing association said this in 2024 – “We have just switched to DRA PAT Testing and they were friendly, efficient and got through our tests in no time at all, replacing plugs and suggesting changes. We’re really impressed and we’ll definitely use again next year!”
Housing Association PAT Testing
Housing association PAT Testing – as the manager of people’s homes, you are responsible for ensuring the property is safe and free from potential dangers. On crucial part of this, is electrical safety, and essentially ensuring electrical equipment is safe through periodic PAT Testing.
As a ‘landlord’ the Housing Association has a duty of care to ensure electrical appliances provided such as whitegoods, ovens, kettles etc are maintained to be safe at all times, so Housing associations’ PAT testing should be done as often is required to ensure equipment doesn’t get damaged.
Housing associations have a legal obligation to ensure equipment they supply is safe under the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016. PAT testing provides you with a record of maintenance, checks and proves appliances are safe for use by your tenants, offering you protection against claims.
If your association operates Houses with multiple occupancy (HMO) then there is more specific legislation for this. More information on HMO’s can be found in our Landlords PAT Testing page.
Our Housing Association PAT Testing Service
In almost every workplace today we have kettles, fridges, computers, printers, phone chargers and so on; some businesses also have tools, vacuum cleaners, and more high risk equipment.
Most appliances will operate on 230v but we can also do tests on 110v and 415v appliances, as well as fixed equipment, and have the capability to do your fixed wiring inspections (EICR) too.
As an experienced PAT testing company we can operate in all environments, so even if your business is not exclusively office we can still help you.
- Free and automatic remedial repairs
- Free replacement plugs & fuses
- Free cable management to ensure efficiency, safety and tidiness
- Minimal disruption guaranteed
Regular PAT testing can help you reduce insurance premiums, as it equates to a risk assessment of your electrical equipment, helping to determine the safety levels in your business, and the need for more or less frequent inspections.
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Regular PAT Testing will help you comply with the regulations for housing associations by having safe electrical appliances
Our PAT testing engineers are experienced and professional, providing a comprehensive inspection and testing service for all your electrical appliances. All our work complies with the latest HSE requirements and industry standards. A regular PAT testing programme helps you to ensure your electrical system is safe for continued use.
We provide an efficient and professional PAT testing service with minimal disruption to your business, with free remedial repairs and promptly issued PAT test Certificates, to help you comply with the latest electrical safety regulations.
Housing Association PAT Testing should be repeated at intervals based on a risk assessment of the equipment in use; an initial inspection by us can count as a good starting point for the assessment, from there between us we should be able to set up an effective retest period to keep residents safe.
Why do we need to PAT Test?
PAT testing is the best way to make sure that your workplace complies with the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. The ‘regs’ cover the electrical safety element of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. The regs require employers make sure that electrical appliances use is safe, and that future risks are assessed and minimised as much as possible. This basically means that you need to assess the risks and take action to prevent accidents occurring; regular PAT tests help to complete a risk assessment and to reduce the chances of accidents occurring through fault finding.
The regulations are not purely to prevent electric shocks, but also mean employers must take into account the suitability, design, construction and installation of electrical systems used for specific tasks in the workplace.
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The 4 Most asked questions about PAT testing
What’s involved in the PAT test?
PAT testing is farily inobtrusive, and when we work together minimal disruption is guarenteed. We do need to turn equipment off and unplug it to test it but the process is quite quick, so not much downtime. We do repairs as we come across them, so you don’t need to worry about delays due to faults, and every test produces results that are recorded into a fully compliant report which documents every device tested, maintenance and the device location in your premises.
Is PAT testing a legal requirement?
You are legally required to maintain safe electrical equipment for continued use and to prevent danger occuring. In the event of an accident occuring, for an investigation you need to provide evidence that your devices were safe, and that you have done everything you can to ensure this. Regular Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) finds faults and fixes them, ensuring dangers are prevented, and the accompanying report ensures your compliance.
How often should PAT testing be done?
PAT testing should be repeated as often as is necessary to prevent danger occuring. A risk assessment is a good way to work out the risks, which help to determine appropriate frequency. We can also guide you based on our vast experience. Typically, site managers opt for annual PAT tests. With DRA PAT Testing we put you in our reminder system, so when tests are due again we contact you to arrange a retest date.
Do new electrical devices require PAT testing?
Assuming you purchased the new appliances from a reputable source, they do not usually require PAT testing immediately, and should be ok to wait until your next scheduled test assuming that is within 12 months of purchase. We do however recommend that the device be visually inspected before use. However, if you are in doubt at all, get it tested, for peace of mind.