Electrics whilst renting

fivemice

We are having problems with our electrics in our rented house.
In the fusebox thing, the switch for the RCD test keeps flipping. It says something about this being an earth problem.

If our landlord calls an electrician out and it turns out to be an electrical item of ours, will we have to foot the bill? We have tried to isolate the problem by switching our things off but it keeps happening.

Really need it sorting, but scared of how much a bill could be :eek:

Generali

Do you have an electrical safety certificate?

clutton_2

"If our landlord calls an electrician out and it turns out to be an electrical item of ours, will we have to foot the bill?" - if the cause is an unsafe piece of your equipment, why would you expect the landlord to pay for it ?

if nothing you own is plugged in and it still happens, then call the landlord and explain what is happening - you cannot live with dodgy electrics - its not safe.

fivemice

I'm not entirely sure. The house was only built in 2003. It says it shouldn't need another inspection til 2013.

thesaint

Try and isolate which circuit is tripping the RCD. If it is a socket circuit, unplug all the appliances on that circuit and then see if it still trips.
If it doesn't then there is a problem with an appliance, and not the circuit.

Gorgeous_George

Unplug everything that can be unplugged.

If the fault remains, it's the house electrics. I wouldn't panic as the RCD is doing its job. By all means trip various circuits to try to isolate the problem but this may not prove conclusive. You only disconnect the live (red/brown) cable when you trip the Cct Bkr.

Lots of potential causes but damp in the bathroom light fitting might be a favourite at this time of year.

My BTL suffered a similar problem and it turned out to be a broken earth cable - probably caused by the tenant putting a picture up and getting unlucky. I paid for the fault to be fixed and asked for a LL's certificate (not a legal requirement). Set me back over £600 (or two month's rent) but I was pleased I'd had it done.



GG