Safety of rental property

[K-PAT]

I posted this yesterday, but not sure if it will appear in this section or elsewhere, so apologies if it seems to be a duplicate...


Hello all,
I wonder if I could ask some advice from electricians out there, I'm not one myself, my link to the forum is through my involvement in PAT testing.
My son is about to rent a flat through a letting agents and I recently had a look at it with him.
The electrics in the premises are via an old style CU with push in wired fuses.The unit looks very old and only has 4 fused circuits.I have found 3 13amp 3 pin sockets in the bathroom(not within reach of anyone in the bath area, but still within the room).I have checked all the sockets in the flat with a Martindale plug in checker and they all show 3 green lights so wired correctly.My concern is the general age of the wiring.
In view of this premises being rented out, should the landlord be considering upgrading the electrics and are there any legal standards that should be maintained.
Any advice or info would be very much appreciated.

Many thanks,

K-Pat.​

Read more: http://www.electriciansforums.net/i...283-safety-rental-property.html#ixzz2Mq7DXQ5r​

 

[Engineer54]

The only way your going to assess if the installations wiring is safe/acceptable for continued use, is by having a full EICR performed on the installation by an experienced qualified electrician. Others here, will be able to give you an idea of the cost. Pretty sure the socket's in the bathroom will come back as a code 2 or even code 1 (for some) though!!

The BS 3036 fuse board is not in itself a failure, though i would have thought a CU upgrade that includes RCD protection, would be advantageous to a landlord renting property, as they do have a legal ''duty of care'' etc towards tenants renting their property!!

 

[SirKit Breaker]

Ask the landlord or letting agent for Electrical Installation Condition report, or Periodic Inspection and Test Report of the Electrical Installation, it will be the latter if it was done more than a year ago.

Rental properties should have the Electrical Installation inspected and tested 5 yearly, or on change of occupancy, and the Electrician will produce a detailed report. Unfortunately it is not a legal requirement, but the Landlord has a legal obligation under the Landlords and Tenants act to provide a safe and serviceable electrical installation one way or another.

Cheers..........Howard

 

[Badged01]

Unfortunately as SirKit says an EICR is a recommendation not a legality (unlike the gas check) so most landlords wont bother --- I think due to a combination of ignorance and just not wanting to spend the money and open up a whole can of worms! However, challenge the landlord/letting agent to see it and get an explanation as to why one hasn't been done if their isn't one. You might get them thinking!!Ultimately if anything goes wrong the landlord is responsible and has to justify how he exercised his 'duty of care' for the electrical installation. In particular his rationale for not following the recommendation for an EICR! Unfortunately this doesn't help you if the 'accident' that brings it all to light is your son getting electrocuted by a bathroom socket.

 

[Octopus]

BBC Radio 4's Moneybox Live, this week had a phone this week about "rights" of tennents etc.

They said that in the event of a fault occuring the tennent needs to notify the landlord in writing, the landlord has 24/48 hours to respond and request access to examine/bring in trades people.

If the landlord doesn't acknowledge the letter, the tennent then has the "right" to get 2 or 3 estimates to get the fault fixed, then notify the landlord, in writing (and sending copies of estimates), that the work wil be conducted at the tenents cost, and the costs deducted from the next rental payment(s).

Rushing ahead and getting issues fixed won't help you.

This is a bit off thread but useful to know.

 

[amberleaf]

Safety of Rental Property(s)
is a long way for a short-cut . " EICR " Private landlords .
Council . ( Domestic premises )
it takes , a sitting tenant to complain to the Council . Then the sparks start to fly .

am sitting with Improvement Notice(s) imposed strict timescales for the completion of the works , Failure to comply with an Improvement Notice is an offence in law for which you may be prosecuted . ( private landlord )

the Council may also carry out the works in default of the Notice(s) , at your expense , And in the event that your tenant(s) vacate this property you will still be required to complete the work(s)

from a private landlord . flats have not be inspected for , at least 25/30 years
3 - flats have be rewire's . to BS-7671:2013 . with Safety Certificate .

Duty of care ... When is a gun loaded . Etc .
Council is heavy on , Bathrooms / Smoke Alarms ( LD3 ) Etc .

 

[NickD]

Right To Repair is worth knowing about for council tenants. I've see council maintenance people suddenly sit up and take notice when it's mentioned.

Right to repair scheme - Shelter England