PAT Testing Requirements for Short-Term Lets in Scotland

PAT testing in a Scottish short-term let is one of those subjects that sounds simpler than it is. Hosts are often told that every plug needs an annual sticker, while general online advice says PAT testing is not compulsory at all.

Neither summary is quite right for a licensed Scottish holiday let.

Scottish short-term let guidance requires a Portable Appliance Testing Report for moveable appliances that guests can access. Those inspected appliances must also be date labelled and signed. What the national guidance does not give you is one universal annual retest date for every appliance and every property.

Is PAT testing required for Scottish short-term lets?

Yes, where guests have access to moveable electrical appliances.

Scottish Government guidance says the licence holder must arrange for a competent person to produce a PAT report covering moveable appliances guests can access. The competent person must also date label and sign the appliances inspected.

mygov.scot includes the PAT report among the documents needed to meet the mandatory conditions for short-term let accommodation.

That is more specific than the general workplace PAT advice you may find online. HSE guidance correctly says that the Electricity at Work Regulations do not force every low-risk workplace appliance into annual PAT testing. Scottish STL operators, however, also have to satisfy the separate licensing conditions applying to their accommodation.

What appliances should be included?

Start with anything moveable, electrically powered and available for guest use.

In a self-catering property, that could include:

• Kettles and toasters.
• Televisions and freestanding lamps.
• Hairdryers.
• Microwaves and other countertop kitchen appliances.
• Extension leads and supplied chargers.
• Freestanding or portable heaters.
• Vacuum cleaners available to guests.
• Washing machines, tumble dryers and other supplied appliances where the tester treats them as moveable equipment.

The exact list depends on the property. A one-bedroom city flat will not have the same inventory as a large rural lodge, glamping pod or guest house.

Walk through the accommodation as a guest would. Check bedrooms, kitchens, utility spaces, shared areas, cupboards guests can open, outdoor buildings and any equipment supplied seasonally.

What is not covered by the PAT report?

PAT testing and an EICR cover different parts of electrical safety.

The PAT report deals with moveable appliances. An Electrical Installation Condition Report deals with the fixed electrical installation: wiring, circuits, the consumer unit, sockets and fixed fittings.

One does not replace the other. A satisfactory EICR does not tell you whether a damaged kettle lead is safe, and a row of PAT labels does not tell you whether the fixed wiring is in good condition.

Our EICR requirements guide explains the fixed-installation side separately.

Who can carry out PAT testing?

The Scottish guidance requires a competent person to produce the report.

Competence is about having enough knowledge, training and practical ability to carry out the inspection and testing properly, understand the equipment, interpret the results and recognise when something is unsafe. Do not choose someone only because they own a tester or can print labels.

Ask the tester:

• What training and experience they have.
• Whether their insurance covers this work.
• What the inspection includes.
• How they identify each appliance.
• What the report will show.
• How they decide the recommended retest period.
• How failed or inaccessible items will be recorded.

Your council may describe the evidence it expects with an application or renewal, so check the official council page before commissioning work.

Does PAT testing have to be done every year?

The current Scottish national STL guidance requires the PAT report but does not set a universal annual testing interval.

HSE guidance says inspection and testing frequency should reflect risk. The type of equipment, how often it is used, whether it is moved, the environment and its previous condition can all matter. A guest kettle handled every day has a different risk profile from a television that stays in one place.

That does not mean “test once and forget it”. Use the competent person’s recommendation, check any council-specific requirement, and review the position when:

• The report reaches its recommended retest date.
• An appliance is replaced or added.
• Equipment is damaged or repaired.
• A guest reports a fault.
• The property layout or use changes.
• Visual checks suggest deterioration.

If a council asks for a current report, it will decide what evidence and timing it accepts for its licensing process.

What should the PAT report contain?

A useful report should let you match the result to the actual item in the property.

Keep:

• Property address.
• Inspection date.
• Tester’s name and details.
• An appliance description and unique identifier.
• Appliance location.
• Test or inspection result.
• Details of failed, repaired or removed items.
• Recommended next inspection or review date, where provided.
• A record of appliances added after the visit.

“Twenty appliances passed” is much less useful than an itemised register. If the bedroom lamp is replaced six months later, you should be able to tell that the new lamp was not part of the original twenty.

Do appliances need labels?

Yes. Scottish STL guidance says inspected moveable appliances must be date labelled and signed.

Labels help connect the item to the report and show that it formed part of the inspection. They are not a substitute for the report itself, and a label does not guarantee that an appliance remains safe for the whole period after testing.

Guests can damage cables, plugs can loosen and liquids can find their way into kitchen equipment. Continue carrying out sensible visual checks between formal inspections.

What should happen when an appliance fails?

Take it out of guest use.

Do not leave a failed toaster in a cupboard or put a note on a heater and hope nobody plugs it in. Remove or isolate the item until a competent person has repaired it and confirmed it is safe, or replace it.

Update the appliance register so the paper trail makes sense:

• Record the failed item.
• Keep repair evidence if it is repaired.
• Record the replacement if it is discarded.
• Arrange appropriate inspection or testing of the repaired or replacement equipment.
• Remove obsolete labels and identifiers from your active list.

The aim is not to preserve a perfect-looking report. It is to keep unsafe equipment away from guests and maintain an accurate record of what is actually in the property.

What about brand-new appliances?

Keep the receipt, model details and date the appliance entered the property.

General HSE guidance does not say every new appliance must automatically receive a PAT before first use, but a Scottish STL operator still needs a PAT report covering moveable appliances guests can access. If you add an appliance after the report was produced, ask the competent person how it should be incorporated and when it should be inspected or tested.

Do not quietly treat “new” as a permanent exemption. The item will become part of the working appliance inventory and will need to be managed accordingly.

Should guests be able to see the PAT report?

Yes. mygov.scot says a copy of the PAT report must be available within the accommodation in a place guests can access.

A guest information folder or clearly signposted digital pack can work. Keep the accessible version current when appliances, reports or safety information change.

A practical PAT routine

A straightforward system is more useful than a drawer full of labels:

• Build an appliance inventory for each property.
• Walk the guest-accessible areas before the tester arrives.
• Remove old equipment that is no longer used.
• Arrange inspection and testing by a competent person.
• Check that the report is itemised and the labels match.
• Remove failed equipment from use and record what happened.
• Save the report with the property’s compliance documents.
• Make the guest copy accessible.
• Record new and replacement appliances as they arrive.
• Follow the recommended retest date and review sooner when circumstances change.

This is also a good housekeeping check. It tends to uncover the mystery extension lead behind a bed, the spare heater added during a cold spell and the second-hand lamp nobody remembered buying.

FAQ

Keep it connected to the property

PAT testing works best as part of the wider property record, alongside the EICR, gas safety where applicable, fire safety, insurance and the STL licence itself.

Use the free Scottish STL compliance planner to see the wider starting checklist, then keep the PAT inventory and report attached to the property they actually describe.