Electrics condemned - landlady advice

jonnyblue

Hi, can anyone please offer any advice on the following situation.

Basically my friend rents a house, his girlfriend recently had a shock off the light switch and also there are sparks coming from the sockets. An electrician has been round this morning and basically said the electrics are very old and a full rewire is needed and he should really condemn the electrics and switch them off.

My friend is worried that the landlady will be reluctant to have this done, as she definetly doesnt like to part with cash, and she may just try and find new tenants

Question is, where would my friend stand legally ? would they be better asking the electrician to disconnect it and would the landlady then have an obligation to fix the matter urgently ?

Any advice is much appreciated

Thanks

steve_cov

If disconnection meant the house was without heating or lighting, the house would not be habitable.

The housing people at the local authority can advise on matters like this. They will not be prepared to allow people to live in a house whose electrics have been condemned and can act to force the landlady's hand if necessary.

Nile

Hello jonnyblue


Welcome to the MSE site.:wave:

I hope your friends get their problem resolved quickly and can feel safe in their home.;)

Regards

Nile

Adbru

Hi,

The electrician can "recommend" that the electrics be switched off/disconnected but he does not have the power to condemn them as unsafe (like a corgi gas fitter can!)

The electrician should be able to produce a schedule of test results to show where the problems/dangers arise and the landlord "should" act upon it or be liable for any damage/injury.

Ask over on the IEE forums for more direct advice.

http://www.theiet.org/Forums/forum/categories.cfm?catid=205&entercat=y

Its a forum for electricians etc so you will get a more uptodate answer than I can give

At the end of the day you cant put a price on safety !!

hth

Adbru

maxiscot

Not sure about this but I have heard if you are renting out a property you have to get a certificate relating to electrics and gas to stop people renting out houses with dodgy electrics/gas- I think it is Prescott's office

weekendwarrior

Although this forum is very good I would suggest posting your question here- http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=3

There are some experts on landlord zone that know about landlord/tenant law.

There could be some scope to get a disrepair notice served or similar, I am no expert but do rent out one house. There is currently no legal requirement to get the electrics tested, that I know of! Some landlords do get the electrics checked along with the gas but as far as I know there is no legal requirement to do so.

The electrics in your friends house sound very dodgy and need sorting out ASAP!

Good luck

KatieKins

http://www.letlink.co.uk/GeneralInfo/safety.asp

Check out the above link which has a paragraph on electrical safety. It is definitely up to your landlady to provide safe electrical wiring etc

KatieKins

https://www.direct.gov.uk also has some stuff. I have had to look up things in the past for my brother who rents a house at uni and I know how hard it is to approach landlords to ask them to fix stuff. They just don't want to know!
I think that, as long as it is your friend who is the one living there and not the landlady, it is their safety at risk and if a qualified electrician has said it is dangerous, your friend should take action asap. The landlady will have to fix a problem.

jonnyblue

Thanyou to everyone for the advice and loads of links. Ill pass the info on and hopefully itl all be sorted amicably!

Cheers again everyone

Loretta

Speak to the Envoronmental Health Department at the Town Hall and they wil deal with this