What is a Landlords Safety check?

[alanl]

Some Managing Agents have asked me to do a 'Landlords safety check' on a rented property.
I said I could do a PIR for them no problem, £20 per circuit - £100 for the house.
"It was only £50 last year"
Well, how long was he there?
Around 2 hours was the reply.
There is no way a PIR could be done in that time.
I've turned it down, as they either have the PIR, or I dont do it.

So what were they after?

Ta
Alan.

 

[Octopus]

Surely you could only contemplate doing a "Landlords Safety Check" if you had the last PIR to refer to!!

 

[alanl]

Thanks for the replies, I'm a bit more enlightened!
I cannot see how a visual exam tells you anything.Earth bond in place, sockets in good condition etc, but ti says nothing at all about the safety of the installation, so i think I'll be steering well clear of a 'VIR'.
Thanks
Alan.

 

[Marvo]

It kinda makes sense to me. If the period between PIR inspections is 5 years then the Visual inspection would be an interim measure if the last PIR was available for reference and if the last PIR was within 2 years. Assuming there's been no significant work or renovations on the property then a 2 hour visual inspection would suffice in my opinion.

The biggest problem with this type of interim inspection is it's going to be targetted for abuse as a cheap and cheerful PIR substitute by landlords who are fiscally shrewd and budget conscious (tight fisted). As long as there's hard and fast rules to stop this abuse then it should be okay.

 

[Geordie Spark]

More dangerous occurances happen with gas

I know!!

And it's more to do with ventilation & flue issues than gas leaks, but I still think it's wrong that the electrical inspection can just be a visual only. That did not pick up the earth fault that gaused my girlfriend's eldest daughter getting a shock of the kitchen tap in the house she was renting!!

 

[Geordie Spark]

Thanks for the replies, I'm a bit more enlightened!
I cannot see how a visual exam tells you anything.Earth bond in place, sockets in good condition etc, but ti says nothing at all about the safety of the installation, so i think I'll be steering well clear of a 'VIR'.
Thanks
Alan.

I agree.

 

[poheZ]

The root of the problem is that there is no set format to a pir. This means that a pir can be whatever you say it is on the report sheet.

If the estate agent wants a pir for £50 then why not give it to them? They pay for what they get? If you undertake what you can and state no test on the rest whats the problem? No one is asking you to make it up

 

[DurhamSparky]

to be truth full i carry out VIR on a lot of propertys that i initially carried out a full PIR on!! if its good it gets a 10 year life span and then every time a new tennant moves in or a year passes (what comes sooner) i do a visual inspection to ensure no broken sockets . lights and no signs of damage from tennant!
it covers the landlords --- if they ever said oh that socket was missing when i moved in and i got a shock etc!

then hopefully come the 10 year mark another full PIR will be undertaken

 

[Paul.M]

to be truth full i carry out VIR on a lot of propertys that i initially carried out a full PIR on!! if its good it gets a 10 year life span and then every time a new tennant moves in or a year passes (what comes sooner) i do a visual inspection to ensure no broken sockets . lights and no signs of damage from tennant!
it covers the landlords --- if they ever said oh that socket was missing when i moved in and i got a shock etc!

then hopefully come the 10 year mark another full PIR will be undertaken

I think a VIR is a good idea for an annual landlord safety check and as Durham says it covers the landlords back. It should be better constructed and include a Ze, Zs on the two largest circuits and a rcd ramp test. I think it should take about two hours to complete including the visual and its better than nothing and could also lead to more work. Min £50 per VIR only if the estate agents can provide the EIC/pir and book at least ten properties within 6 months, I think that would work.

 

[Phil]

i have done visuals in the past and all the findings are well documented. i also make it very clear on the report that in no way does this report give any details regarding the condition of the cables etc. if they want a visual report give them one and make it clear what you have done. also a couple i have done them for needed or wanted after a change of tenant which was a couple of months after the pir so it would not have been in the interests of the installation to start pulling it apart again