Consumer unit position

[Kelec1]

Evening all.
My landlord is developing property and asked me today about the positioning of four consumer units for four separate units. His electrician has suggested putting the ccu's for all four flats underneath a communal staircase cupboard next to the distributors meters 'to save money'!!
how ridiculous I thought.
Ive been working on new builds, albeit on a larger scale for some time, but have never seen a communual consumer unit area....


your thoughts please )

 

[TJ Anderson]

Multiple occupancy (HMO's) are usually just regular houses used as bedsits basically. They have very little electrical alteration carried out in my experience.

 

[TJ Anderson]

Evening all.
My landlord is developing property and asked me today about the positioning of four consumer units for four separate units. His electrician has suggested putting the ccu's for all four flats underneath a communal staircase cupboard next to the distributors meters 'to save money'!!
how ridiculous I thought.
Ive been working on new builds, albeit on a larger scale for some time, but have never seen a communual consumer unit area....


your thoughts please )

His "Electrician" does not know what he is doing. Obviously it should have Non-RCD sub circuits to individual flats with consumer units within the flats feeding final circuits. Just look at any other flats where DNO supplies are not brought up to each one.

 

[Essex_]

This could be an old wives tale but I was always taught that circuit runs could not go into another properties boundary. As most apprenticeships this was never backed up by a specific reg so maybe someone can help me out here.

 

[R G]

All those individual circuits run to each flat, No

Just think about the volt drop and the Zs readings as well ...

 

[Engineer54]

Tell your landlord to find another electrician, or should i say ...''A Real Electrician''!! God knows what else he'll get up too, with ideas like that little gem??

 

[Knobhead]

Would you want your neighbour to be in a position to switch off your electrics???

Not if you’ve got me in the flat below.

The couple in the flat above had a strange idea they could do what they liked, when they liked no matter how noisy.
Not long after I moved in they got the hint. Loud music and singing while they party and then all of a sudden, silence. The only sound after that was my front door slamming.

The Wylex KMF switches for each flat are near the ceiling in the hallway so that they’re accessible but not obtrusive. I’m tall enough to reach them, he isn’t. It’s a Victorian house so use your imagination as to the height of the switches.



Back to the OP,
On a safety aspect, a single point of isolation isn’t readily to hand in the flat. Never mind any regulations, common sense says this idea is plain and simply stupid.

As to how you as a tenant can influence your landlords decision is going to call for a bit of diplomacy. Go in with all guns blazing won’t help your cause. You’re going to have to use reasoned argument.

 

[marc8]

Are you sure he does not mean the sub main cables running down to the switch fuse for multiple occupancy dwellings & you have misunderstood what he was saying.