Your tenant says a socket's sparking or smells of burning: the first hour, step by step

You're at work and your phone buzzes: your tenant says a socket in the flat is crackling, or there's a smell of burning near a plug. It's the kind of message that's easy to half-read and mean to deal with later. Don't. A burning smell or a sparking socket is one of the few electrical faults that's genuinely a drop-everything, same-day job.

Here's what to tell your tenant in the first hour, worth copying straight into a reply, and what you need to do as the landlord.

Send your tenant these steps now

Copy and paste:

1. Stop using it. Don't plug anything else in, and don't try to "test" it again.

2. If you can reach it safely, switch that socket off and pull the plug out. If it's hot, scorched, or you're unsure, leave it... go to step 3 instead.

3. Go to the fuse box and switch off the circuit, or the main switch, if you can get to it safely and without touching anything hot or damaged.

4. Don't touch anything scorched, warm or melted, and don't throw water at it.

5. Take a photo of the socket and any marks, then keep everyone well clear of it.

6. If there's smoke, flames, or anyone has had a shock... get out and call 999.

That's it. Nothing clever, nothing that involves opening anything up.

Why a burning smell isn't "wait and see"

A quick trip at the fuse box is your electrics protecting you. A burning smell, crackling or scorch marks around a socket is different... that's usually arcing: electricity jumping a loose or damaged connection, running hot enough to char plastic and, at worst, start a fire. It won't fix itself, and it tends to get worse the more the socket is used.

Around Slough I see it most in older rented terraces and busy HMOs, where one tired socket has had years of kettles, heaters and phone chargers run through it. The smell is the early warning. Treat it as one.

Your duty as the landlord... this one's same-day

If you've got a valid EICR, you already know the drill: anything an inspector flags gets fixed. The 2020 electrical safety regulations give you 28 days to carry out remedial work once it's on the report... or sooner if the report says so.

But a socket that's actively sparking or smells of burning isn't a scheduled repair; it's a live danger, the kind an inspector would code C1 ("danger present") or C2 ("potentially dangerous"). That can't sit for 28 days. Once your tenant has made it safe, get an electrician out the same day to find the fault and put it right... then keep the paperwork.

What I'll do when I get there

I'll make the socket safe, then trace the actual fault (a loose connection, a failing socket, or damaged cable behind it) rather than just swapping the faceplate and hoping. That's what my fault-finding service is for, and if it's out of hours my emergency line is there.

I'm a NAPIT-registered electrician based in Slough, covering Windsor, Maidenhead, Bracknell and across the Thames Valley, and I look after landlords' properties week in, week out. If your tenant's reported a sparking or burning socket, forward them the steps above and get in touch for a free, no-obligation quote... I'll come and sort it properly.