High-rise
High-rise and multi-storey blocks
Rising mains feeding many flats from one supply, where one fault reaches every home on it.
The challenge
Where does your electrical safety duty leave a gap?
Your duty is to the resident every day, and the tools you rely on show the installation only on the day it is tested.
The five-yearly regime now covers social homes: installations inspected before a tenancy and at regular intervals, landlord-supplied appliances checked at least every five years, unsafe equipment put right within 28 days, and the records kept. It has applied since 1 November 2025, and since 1 May 2026 for tenancies granted before 1 December 2025.
The Regulator of Social Housing asks you to "take all reasonable steps to ensure the health and safety of tenants in their homes and associated communal areas", and to "take reasonable steps to mitigate any identified risks to tenants". From 30 November 2026, Awaab's Law extends to electrical hazards, and an emergency hazard must be investigated and made safe within 24 hours of you becoming aware of it.
None of that watches the supply itself. On a common type of supply known as PME, one network conductor serves as both neutral and earth. If it breaks, the IET records that up to 230 volts can appear on earthed metalwork and up to 400 volts can reach equipment built for 230. In a block where many flats share one supply, one fault reaches every one of them.
The conductor belongs to the network operator. The residents, and what happens to them while the fault is live and unreported, are yours to look after.
Our approach
How do you keep watch between inspections?
We watch each block's incoming supply and your landlord distribution boards continuously, so a lost neutral or live metalwork is known the moment it happens, not when a resident reports a damaged boiler.
When the neutral is lost, when the shared neutral and earth conductor breaks, when bonded metalwork picks up voltage, or when the supply runs out of range, the alarm goes to your team by text and email and to your building management system. Chosen circuits can be switched off automatically or remotely, and the watch can link to the fire alarm.
We own the response as one accountable party: who answers the alarm out of hours, what is safe to leave running for residents, who tells them, and getting the network operator out to repair a conductor you do not own. Each alert and what was done is recorded against the building, so your property-level record shows it.
It is fitted in plant and meter rooms beside your existing boards, so residents are not disturbed, and it sits alongside your inspection programme and your electrical contractor. The inspection proves the installation. The watch keeps an eye on the supply that feeds it.
What you get
Residents looked after every day, not only on test day
Risk
A supply fault seen the day it happens
Known the moment it arrives, not discovered at the next inspection or through a resident's damaged appliance.
Risk
One view of the supply every home shares
Watching the block's incoming supply and landlord boards gives you one view of the supply that feeds every home on it, rather than one flat at a time.
Obligation
A response built around Awaab's Law
From 30 November 2026 an emergency electrical hazard must be made safe within 24 hours of you knowing about it. We build the out-of-hours cover, the resident communication and the call to the network operator around that clock.
Obligation
A record for your safety file
Each alert and the action taken, recorded at building level: the kind of property-level record the regulator expects you to hold.
Cost
A chance to limit damage and claims
One network fault can damage appliances and boilers across a whole estate. Knowing early, and switching off what matters, gives you the chance to limit repairs, replacements and compensation.
Cost
One owner, not another contractor to chase
Alarm, isolation, resident communication and the network repair handled together, alongside your existing inspection and repairs contracts.
Evidence
What the evidence shows about the hazard
These figures describe the hazard and what it costs, from the IET, a network operator, the Home Office and the rules your homes are held to. They are not our results.
230 VCan appear on earthed metalwork when the network's shared neutral and earth conductor breaks (IET, Wiring Matters, March 2021)
500 homesSupplied with up to 415 volts by a single network neutral fault in one English town, March 2023 (the network operator's own statement)
24 hoursTo investigate and make safe an emergency hazard under Awaab's Law, which reaches electrical hazards from 30 November 2026
£32,400Marginal economic and social cost of a single dwelling fire in England (Home Office, published 2023, on 2019/20 data)
Where it applies
Across a housing estate
Compliance
The compliance you carry
The UK environmental and safety duties that commonly reach housing & residential blocks. Open any one for what it requires, the deadlines, what is at stake, and how to evidence control. Every entry is sourced.
PRS electricalObligationRiskElectrical safety standards in private rented homes (England Regulations 2020)
What you must doHave the electrical installation inspected and tested by a qualified person at least every five years, and act on what the inspection finds.
Applies toPrivate landlords letting homes in England.
When it bitesThroughout every tenancy, with the installation inspected and tested at least every five years.
DeadlinesIn force 1 June 2020; new tenancies from 1 July 2020; existing tenancies from 1 April 2021
What is at stakeA local authority may impose a financial penalty of up to GBP 30,000 per breach.
How to evidence itA current inspection report for each home and a record of any remedial work completed.
Legal basisElectrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/312). Issued by Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government; enforced by local housing authorities.
Keep watch on the supply between inspections, so a fault that arrives after the test is known the day it happens.
Social rented electricalObligationRiskElectrical safety in social rented homes (England, SI 2025/1043)
What you must doInspect and test installations before a tenancy and at regular intervals, check provided electrical equipment at intervals of no more than five years, put unsafe equipment right within 28 days, and keep and supply the records.
Applies toRegistered providers of social housing in England.
When it bitesBefore each tenancy and at regular intervals throughout it.
DeadlinesIn force 1 November 2025; from 1 May 2026 for tenancies granted before 1 December 2025
What is at stakeNo penalty figure for the social rented extension was confirmed in our review; compliance is also assessed against the Regulator of Social Housing consumer standards.
How to evidence itInspection reports, equipment check records and remedial records held for each property.
Legal basisElectrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) (Amendment) (Extension to the Social Rented Sector) Regulations 2025 (SI 2025/1043). Issued by Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
Add a continuous watch on each block's supply to the inspection programme, with every event recorded against the building.
Awaab's LawObligationRiskAwaab's Law Phase 2: electrical hazards in social homes
What you must doInvestigate and make safe an emergency hazard within 24 hours. Investigate a significant hazard within 10 working days and complete safety work within 5 working days of the investigation concluding. It is a duty to act once aware, not a duty to monitor.
Applies toSocial landlords in England.
When it bitesFrom 30 November 2026, once the landlord is aware of a hazard presenting a significant risk of harm, including electrical hazards and fire and explosions.
DeadlinesIn force 30 November 2026
What is at stakeNo fine figure confirmed in our review; the duties are enforceable by tenants and sit alongside the regulator's consumer standards.
How to evidence itA record of when each hazard became known, the investigation, and the safety work, measured against the statutory timescales.
Legal basisHazards in Social Housing (Prescribed Requirements) (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2026. Issued by Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
An alarm makes you aware sooner, and we build the out-of-hours response so the hazard is being made safe as soon as the clock starts.
EAWRObligationRiskElectricity at Work Regulations 1989 (duty holders)
What you must doComply with the Regulations in so far as they relate to matters within your control; employees must co-operate. A network fault is outside your control, but its effects inside your building are not.
Applies toEvery employer and self-employed person, for electrical systems within their control, in any workplace from a school or care home to a hotel or office.
When it bitesContinuously, wherever people work with or near an electrical system you control.
DeadlinesOngoing (continuous duty)
What is at stakeEnforced by the HSE under health and safety law.
How to evidence itClear responsibility for each installation, current inspection and maintenance records, and a record of how supply faults are handled.
Legal basisElectricity at Work Regulations 1989 (SI 1989/635), regulation 3. Issued by Health and Safety Executive.
Know the moment the supply to a building you are responsible for turns unsafe, and have one party own the response.
BS 7671 722ObligationRiskPEN fault protection for outdoor EV charging (BS 7671 regulation 722.411.4.1)
What you must doProvide protection against the touch voltage an open PEN conductor can cause, by a device that disconnects the live and protective conductors, or by an earth electrode arrangement.
Applies toElectric vehicle charge points located outdoors, or likely to charge a vehicle outdoors, on a PME (TN-C-S) supply.
When it bitesOn installing a charge point in that situation.
DeadlinesRequired since Amendment 1 (2020) and retained since; Amendment 4 is reported to become the only current version on 15 October 2026
What is at stakeA British Standard rather than a statute; it is the reference used to show an installation meets the statutory duties.
How to evidence itThe installation certificate recording the protective measure used.
Legal basisBS 7671, the IET Wiring Regulations, regulation 722.411.4.1; product standard IET 01:2024 for open-PEN detection devices. Issued by IET and BSI.
The same fault the Wiring Regulations guard against at the car charger can reach every other circuit in the building. We watch the whole supply.
Before you commit
What this does, and what it does not
Housing has heard a great many claims. Here is ours, stated plainly.
It does not replace your five-yearly inspections or your electrical contractor, and on its own it does not make a home compliant with anything. It does not repair the network conductor: that is the network operator's job, and we call them out. It will not promise that no fault ever causes harm. One more thing is worth saying before you ask it: an alarm makes you aware of a hazard, and under Awaab's Law awareness starts the clock. That is the point. We build the out-of-hours response so that when the clock starts, the hazard is already being made safe.
We start with one block: how it is supplied, where a network fault could reach, and what the response would look like, before you commit.
Questions answered
We already do five-yearly EICRs. Why is that not enough?
An inspection shows your installation on the day it is tested. It does not test the network's conductor, and it cannot see a fault that develops after the engineer leaves. A continuous watch covers the days in between, alongside the inspection.
Isn't a broken neutral the network operator's responsibility?
The conductor and its repair are. The residents and the equipment connected to it while the fault is live are yours to look after, and the social housing standard expects you to take all reasonable steps for their safety. We make sure you know, act, and get the repair made.
Does Awaab's Law require us to monitor the supply?
No. From 30 November 2026 it requires you to investigate and make safe electrical hazards within set timescales once you are aware of them. It does not require monitoring, and we will not tell you it does. A continuous watch makes you aware sooner, and we build the response around the timescales.
Does the Building Safety Act cover this?
Not directly. Its building safety risks are the spread of fire and structural failure. An electrical fault enters only as a possible source of ignition in your safety case.
Do you fit anything inside residents' homes?
No. The watch is fitted at the block's incoming supply and your landlord distribution boards, in plant and meter rooms, so residents are not disturbed.
Can you cover a whole stock, not one block?
Yes. Each building's alerts come into one view, so an estate team can see every block's supply in one place and respond from there.
Start with the block that concerns you most
Tell us which building worries you: the tallest, the oldest supply, or the residents least able to raise the alarm. We will assess how it is supplied and what a continuous watch and response would look like there, before you commit.
Speak to the Team
Tell us your challenge
Tell us the cost, the risk or the obligation you are facing. A senior member of our team will respond, in confidence, with how we would help.
Every enquiry is handled in strict confidence.