Sections 54 and 55 of the
Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (“CPA”) states that a consumer is
entitled to the provision of quality goods and services which are safe and free
from defects. This definition clearly includes the electrical installation in
the property. One of the ways to prove that an electrical installation is safe
is for the owner to be in possession of an Electrical Compliance Certificate
(“ECC”).
In terms of the Electrical Installation Regulations of the Occupational Health
and Safety Act, promulgated in March 2009: “… every user or lessor of an
electrical installation, as the case may be, shall have a valid certificate of
compliance for that installation…”
If you live in your own home
you are the ‘user’, if you rent your home to a consumer you are the ‘lessor’
and if you are a third party who rents a property on behalf of the lessor, you
are the ‘Property Practitioner’. It is therefore clear that as a lessor or a Property Practitioner,
there is a legal responsibility on you to provide the tenant with a valid ECC.
The ECC serves as proof that the property is safe and free from defects insofar
as any electrical installation is concerned. The provision of the ECC to the
tenant also cements the fact that the landlord or the Property Practitioner, as the case may
be, is taking all necessary steps to ensure compliance with the provisions of
the CPA.