Renting Flat: Caught fire

N79

domcastro wrote: »

Because they let out a house with potentially fatal electrical problems - the least they can do (for nearly killing you) is to clean the mess (soot is murder to clean), fix the timer and fix the fire alarms. And you should get a big apology

Every single house in Britain that has an electrical supply, whether rented, owner occupied or something else has a potentially fatal electrical problem. Sometimes electrical fittings break - even well maintained ones. Many electrical faults are accidents - part of what is called life and, provided the installation is well maintained, then the LL is most certainly not to blame.

Everyone who lives in their own house faces the same risk. So lets be a little less melodramatic.

The only important thing is that the OP is fine and no-one else has been injured.

domcastro

Amnesia180 wrote: »

I seriously hope you people do not rent properties... that would be appalling service.

They should come round themselves and do it then!

You will be able to tell who are landlords from the replies you get

- Well, you didn't die, so shut up and deal with it yourself

The tenants will say things like

- that's terrible. They could have killed you because the landlord was trying to increase his profit margin

domcastro

N79 wrote: »

Every single house in Britain that has an electrical supply, whether rented, owner occupied or something else has a potentially fatal electrical problem. Sometimes electrical fittings break - even well maintained ones. Many electrical faults are accidents - part of what is called life and, provided the installation is well maintained, then the LL is most certainly not to blame.

Everyone who lives in their own house faces the same risk. So lets be a little less melodramatic.

The only important thing is that the OP is fine and no-one else has been injured.

I paid £200 just to move in to a rented house. I pay £800 per month. I have to pay £55 every six months to renew contract. I have an £800 pound deposit on the place.

I expect this place to be PERFECT - I shouldn't have to deal with all these problems because it's not my house - it's their house - and they would have checked the electrics in their own house.

domcastro

domcastro wrote: »

I paid £200 just to move in to a rented house. I pay £800 per month. I have to pay £55 every six months to renew contract. I have an £800 pound deposit on the place.

I expect this place to be PERFECT - I shouldn't have to deal with all these problems because it's not my house - it's their house - and they would have checked the electrics in their own house.

EDIT: And why should I spend an afternoon of my time clearing mess that wasn't caused by me

EDIT 2: And if I don't clear it up properly, you can guarantee the LL will take the cleaning costs out of your deposit

N79

domcastro wrote: »

You will be able to tell who are landlords from the replies you get

- Well, you didn't die, so shut up and deal with it yourself

The tenants will say things like

- that's terrible. They could have killed you because the landlord was trying to increase his profit margin

No one has said that the T should deal with this issue themselves. It has been suggested that it is not always possible to get these breakdowns fixed immediately, either as a homeowner or as a LL.

The second point is that no matter how much you pay in maintaining electrical fittings these sort of breakdowns still occur and unfortunately any electrical problem is potential fatal.

If you wish to interpret these two as meaning that all LLs are reckless with the lives of their Ts then so be it.

Amnesia180

Well, thanks for all the constructive advice I have received.

The letting agency were adament it wasn't their problem. Until I told them I was seeking advice from the CAB. I've also alerted the local authorities (environmental health and fire brigade because of the fault fire alarms).

Needless to say, the letting agency has now sent out electricians to install a new switch, and is getting someone to inspect the fire alarms in our flat. They've also told us a team will be round to clean the affected parts of the flat this afternoon.

My biggest problem, is that the smoke alarms didn't sound. They have batteries (which I check) AND are hard wired... yet, it still failed.

I think everything is being sorted as we speak (i'm sat at work, worrying what's going on!).

N79

Amnesia180 wrote: »

Well, thanks for all the constructive advice I have received.

The letting agency were adament it wasn't their problem. Until I told them I was seeking advice from the CAB. I've also alerted the local authorities (environmental health and fire brigade because of the fault fire alarms).

Needless to say, the letting agency has now sent out electricians to install a new switch, and is getting someone to inspect the fire alarms in our flat. They've also told us a team will be round to clean the affected parts of the flat this afternoon.

My biggest problem, is that the smoke alarms didn't sound. They have batteries (which I check) AND are hard wired... yet, it still failed.

I think everything is being sorted as we speak (i'm sat at work, worrying what's going on!).

I'm glad that everything is being sorted quickly. Sometimes fully working smoke alarms do fail to go off - this is due to the "wrong type" of smoke particles being created which does not effectively scatter the radiation in the detector. However, it is always worth further testing. Have you tested the alarms by blowing out a candle directly underneath the radiation source (rather than just pressing the button which just checks the electrical circuitry)? That will tell if the detector is faulty or if the fire just failed to set it off.

janey_uk

N79 wrote: »

I'm glad that everything is being sorted quickly. Sometimes fully working smoke alarms do fail to go off - this is due to the "wrong type" of smoke particles being created which does not effectively scatter the radiation in the detector. However, it is always worth further testing. Have you tested the alarms by blowing out a candle directly underneath the radiation source (rather than just pressing the button which just checks the electrical circuitry)? That will tell if the detector is faulty or if the fire just failed to set it off.

I can confirm my smoke alarms did not go off when the plastic moulding around the electrics in our light fitting were burning. It was the smell and the failing bulbs that tipped us off. Is a bit scary.

janey_uk

Amnesia180 wrote: »

Well, thanks for all the constructive advice I have received.

The letting agency were adament it wasn't their problem. Until I told them I was seeking advice from the CAB. I've also alerted the local authorities (environmental health and fire brigade because of the fault fire alarms).

Needless to say, the letting agency has now sent out electricians to install a new switch, and is getting someone to inspect the fire alarms in our flat. They've also told us a team will be round to clean the affected parts of the flat this afternoon.

My biggest problem, is that the smoke alarms didn't sound. They have batteries (which I check) AND are hard wired... yet, it still failed.

I think everything is being sorted as we speak (i'm sat at work, worrying what's going on!).

Nice one - glad to hear it's sorted! Funny how a few choice words can make the impossible suddenly quite possible!

TJ27

I'm not saying that we're talking about the same thing here, but this illustrates how seriously fire safety is now taken. Landlords can go to prison if their house is not up to standard and there is a fire:

http://www.lacors.gov.uk/lacors/ContentDetails.aspx?id=20870