Renting house- Electric certificate questions

janknit

Not sure if this is the right place for this question but here goes
I am thinking of renting my old empty house and know that I have to get an electric certificate.
I have had someone round & paid him £110 but the electrics didn't pass so didn't receive the certificate.
The man wants another £500 to put things right & then he will pass it & I will get the certificate.
Are there any electricians out there who can tell me if this is reasonable/normal.
The work that needs doing is a new fuse box at £380. He says it is the old type that you have to rewire when a fuse goes.
A new wire for the shower & some earth things on bathroom pipes.
Sorry I'm not very good with remembering/describing

Another thing is if I decide to sell the house instead of renting is this electric certificate worth having anyway or am I wasting £500

thesaint

Simply put, you don't need a certificate.

BASFORDLAD

£380 is definately not bad for a new fuse box to be installed, its worth having the certificate if u have any work done for the new HIPs

Mental_Mentor

thesaint wrote: »

Simply put, you don't need a certificate.

You may not need one but it sounds like the house is at risk of a fire (no earths in bathroom) Do you want the tenants lives on your conscience?

Be a responsible landlord and get the work done! The price is good. The first guy should not have taken your money unless he told you about this and quoted for the work.

Please do the right thing!

thesaint

Mental_Mentor wrote: »

You may not need one but it sounds like the house is at risk of a fire (no earths in bathroom) Do you want the tenants lives on your conscience?

Be a responsible landlord and get the work done! The price is good. The first guy should not have taken your money unless he told you about this and quoted for the work.

Please do the right thing!

I never said don't get the work done, I simply pointed out that the OP is misinformed about the necessity of a certificate.

You are wrong about the absence of earthing causing a fire.

I suggest a call to another electrician, as an old rewireable fusebox is perfectly fine if it is safe.

Mental_Mentor

thesaint wrote: »

I never said don't get the work done, I simply pointed out that the OP is misinformed about the necessity of a certificate.

You are wrong about the absence of earthing causing a fire.

I suggest a call to another electrician, as an old rewireable fusebox is perfectly fine if it is safe.

I disagree but you are entitled to your opinion

janknit

Mental Mentor
I quite agree with all you say. I will do the right thing.
The question is am I being given a fair price or is this an electrician telling me porkies to get more money.
Its a bit like taking a car for an MOT to a dodgy garage who says it won't pass unless you have a new whatever.
The electrician charged £110 for the test & the failure list with the £500 quote.
If this is a fair price then thats fine.
The only reason for not changing the fuse box is that it is working fine for selling the property. (I havn't decided yet to sell or rent)

BASFORDLAD Thats great that you think £380 for a fuse box is fair. Does it need one though? The other one works fine.
What is HIPs. ? All I know about HIPS is that mine are too big:rotfl:

thesaint. I don't need one:eek: I thought it was the new law

olly300

No you don't need a certificate. You do have a legal obligation as a landlord to ensure all electrics are safe.

http://england.shelter.org.uk/advice/advice-4068.cfm#wipLive-12914-2
http://www.niceic.org.uk/consumers/rentedaccom.html

You can have a property with an old fuse box which is safe, but if you are renting out the property I wouldn't trust tenants not to overload the sockets and cause fuses to blow. And this fuse box will cause you more hassle i.e. you can't tell the tenants down the phone to flick the switch.

Now you know what work needs doing get another electrician out and get a quote for replacing the fuse box and shower wire only. See if they mention about earthing the bathroom pipes.

daycartes

If you have an old style fuse box then it would suggest to me that the house is in need of a full rewire as it is probably a long time since it was rewired.
Electricians now are required to fit an RCDc in a consumer unit / or change consumer unit to one that includes an RCDc AND ensure that there are sufficiently robust earths to any rooms with a water supply; kitchens / bathrooms etc BEFORE undertaking any other work.
When changing a consumer unit, if the cables are old, they will be brittle due to heat over the years and will crack almost immediately, you will then be told that you will need a complete rewire so be aware of this, and of course this is true. If you want to see the state of the wiring remove one of the light switches (turn electric off first) or feel the ceiling roses to see if they are / have been affected by heat.
As for cost:
complete rewire should be in the bracket of ££2000 - £4000 depending on what you want
We have just been estimated £2500 for our 3 bed semi
We have been quoted for an extra ring main / cooker and lights in the kitchen at £535+VAT

My information has come from my own knowledge and been updated by the electrician we've just had round.

Sounds to me, as an ex electrician myself, that your electrician is talking sense and is charging you a fair price except for that certificate which seems expensive in comparison with the MOT you mentioned.
Hope you are better informed now
daycartes

RHemmings

thesaint wrote: »

Simply put, you don't need a certificate.

You do, however, need safe electrics. If the OP is aware that the electrics of the house are unsafe, but lets it anyway in its current condition, do you claim that this is legal? What would happen if the house was let without repairing the problems, and someone died or was injured due to faulty electrics?

http://england.shelter.org.uk/advice/advice-4068.cfm#wipLive-12914-3

http://www.bradford.gov.uk/housing/rented_housing/landlord_advice/rights.htm

In addition to the general repair requirement, the Landlord now also has a duty to ensure the property does not pose a risk to the health and safety of the tenants or visitors to the property.

http://www.themovechannel.com/guides/Letting/Being_a_landlord/

Under common law, landlords must ensure the safety and maintenance of rented property and their contents so that no injury or damage is caused to the occupants, neighbours or the public.
...
Under the Landlord and Tenant Act, 1985, landlords are obligated to keep the structure and exterior of the property in a good state of repair.
...
You must also ensure that the electrical system and any electrical appliances that you supply such as cookers, kettles, toasters, washing machines and immersion heater are safe to use.

So the lack of a requirement for a safety certificate does not excuse a landlord from ensuring that the electrics are safe. I would presume that if the electrician has said that things need to be fixed, that there are at least some doubts as to the safety of the property.

thesaint

RHemmings wrote: »

You do, however, need safe electrics. If the OP is aware that the electrics of the house are unsafe, but lets it anyway in its current condition, do you claim that this is legal? What would happen if the house was let without repairing the problems, and someone died or was injured due to faulty electrics?

http://england.shelter.org.uk/advice/advice-4068.cfm#wipLive-12914-3

http://www.bradford.gov.uk/housing/rented_housing/landlord_advice/rights.htm


http://www.themovechannel.com/guides/Letting/Being_a_landlord/


So the lack of a requirement for a safety certificate does not excuse a landlord from ensuring that the electrics are safe. I would presume that if the electrician has said that things need to be fixed, that there are at least some doubts as to the safety of the property.

Your links are wasted on me, I won't be bothering to click them because they will not tell me that my statement was incorrect.

I will say it again for those who are unclear.

Simply put, you don't need a certificate.