UK Landlord Trying to Deduct Deposit for Unnecessary Electrician Test.

[Wingo123]

Hi everyone,

I recently moved out of my rented property, and as expected, my landlord is attempting to withhold a significant portion of my deposit. One of the charges she's insisting on is £300 for an electrician to conduct an EICR test.

Here's the situation: I'm a qualified electrician, and during my tenancy, I simply swapped the upstairs bedroom light with the living room light. I didn't tamper with any wiring; I only changed an accessory. My understanding is that no certificate is required for this kind of minor change, as there were no alterations to the wiring.

I've tried explaining this to my landlord, but she's adamant about the charge. Now, I've escalated the issue and filed a dispute with TDS (Tenancy Deposit Scheme). However, I'm hoping to get some additional confirmation and possibly a reference to the regulations that support my stance.

Can anyone confirm if I'm correct in my understanding? And perhaps provide a specific part of the regulations that backs up my argument?

Thank you in advance for any advice or insights you can offer!

 

[Brian Taylor]

Yes, they are trying to charge me £300+ for a new EICR as I swapped over 2 lights. I agree with you. It seems like they are trying to get the money to get it done now instead of having to pay themselves next year.

Would a Minor Works certificate not be in order.....only one page just related to the circuit in question...hence a lot less money?

 

[Simon47]

As a landlord myself, and having family members who rent, I see both sides.

With my landlord hat on, I would be "greatly annoyed" if I found that a tenant had changed light fittings without even asking first. If they asked, I would probably offer to do it for them - and unless there was something particularly nuisanceworthy involved I probably wouldn't charge. I've certainly put things like blinds up for tenants in the past - apart from trying to be a good landlord, it means I can consider things like what holes will be left when they take them down as they leave.
And as mentioned above, if they've done something I have noticed, what might they have done that I can't see without doing a full inspection & test ?
If they want to put up some monstrosity that would put off anyone looking to rent in future then I'd factor in the need to remove it and replace with standard at the end of tenancy.

I've actually only made one deduction from a deposit in over 20 years - and the tenant volunteered that as he'd broken the fridge through over-enthusiastic attempts to de-ice it. We settled on 1/2 the cost of a replacement - it wasn't a new fridge, and he'd been a good tenant.

Also with my landlord hat on, I find it "greatly annoying" to read to sort of stories that result in us all being tarred with the same brush and get further regulations piled on.
And that includes seeing how some family members get treated. I'm really tempted to ask to see the EICR for one house, because I know for a fact it can't have a genuine satisfactory one. But then, they aren't ready to move so I don't want to rock the boat. They also have to put up with an agent that seemingly does the minimum it can get away with - and that includes not repairing a roof leak until threats of calling in the council are made. But we don't know how much of that is the agent and how much is the landlord - I am tempted to call on the landlord and see whether they are aware of the problems, or whether the agent is just not telling them.


As to the "on change of occupancy" bit. I do a visual inspection, and since I do all my own maintenance and an autistic attention to details, I think that's sufficient in-between the 5 yearly EICRs.