Forced to re-wire

967stuart

On behalf of my mother -

The council are insisting on re-wiring my mothers house (along with all other houses in the area).

There plan is put all new wiring in trunking stuck to the wall rather than nicely buried as it is now.

In the words of the guy that come and done the 'check' …. "What a shame as it's lovely in here, you've decorated and looked after the place …. some of the dives we have to go to etc…

My question is, is this really needed ?? surly they can just test the electrics and see they are safe (a friend of the family did all the electrics not so long ago …. he's actually sub-contracted by the council !! ….)

What a complete waste of money if there is no faults and it's perfectly fine.
My mother decorating will now be destroyed and she has to lose 4 days from work.
(and before anyone points out …. I'm aware it's not her house …. but still, what a pointless exercise)

Torry_Quine

I doubt that she has any right to stop them from updating the electrics. Have you got some kind of proof of the work done and if it passes modern regulations as that may and I stress may let her off.

967stuart

There's no proof as the work is a few years old now (but the guy who did is an actual inspector so I'm guessing he could sign it off if needs be).
Just seems like a giant waste of money to me.

Torry_Quine

967stuart wrote: »

There's no proof as the work is a few years old now (but the guy who did is an actual inspector so I'm guessing he could sign it off if needs be).
Just seems like a giant waste of money to me.

I suspect then that the work will have to be done. I see what you're saying but to the council they have a duty to make sure that all the work is up-to -date and can't take someone's word for it.

It's never a good idea to do expensive works on a property you don't own without checking first and getting permission and finding out if the council are planning to do it themselves.

moneyistooshorttomention

When I was in public sector housing (ie many moons ago now) they came along doing a particular task to do with the central heating on all the properties. It would not have suited me to have the alteration made, so I explained this to them and asked if they could leave my flat until after I'd moved on from it and do it then.

Neither they nor I knew when I would be moving on - as even I didnt know when I'd have the chance to do so (or indeed if I'd never be able to manage it). However, despite that, they agreed and left my flat as was and, presumably, did do it when I'd gone.

Having said that, I'd always found they were very reasonable in their attitude generally and I had no complaints about them.

So, I guess you know how reasonable (or otherwise) they are.

Of course, the second thought (and what I personally would do in your circumstances) is go to the Council and say "I appreciate you want to do the rewiring on ALL the houses. Can I guess that the reason you are planning to put all the wires on the surface is because some tenants would complain about their decor being disturbed otherwise? Actually, my mother is okay about having her decor disturbed - but she does need/want all wiring hidden within the walls (ie the way rewiring is normally done) and it would really upset her to see this stuff running along the walls. Would it be possible - in my mothers case - to do things the normal way and cover all that wiring up please?"

I think that probably IS what has happened - ie thats how some other tenants actually want it - and the Council should accept such a reasonable request. Make sure that, if they agree, that you get this down in writing - as you will doubtless have to show it to the electricians the second they come in and start in on doing it the wrong way and say "Hang on a minute mate...theres a letter here from the Council that specifies that our house is being done the usual way (ie all hidden away)".

martinsurrey

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

When I was in public sector housing (ie many moons ago now) they came along doing a particular task to do with the central heating on all the properties. It would not have suited me to have the alteration made, so I explained this to them and asked if they could leave my flat until after I'd moved on from it and do it then.

Neither they nor I knew when I would be moving on - as even I didnt know when I'd have the chance to do so (or indeed if I'd never be able to manage it). However, despite that, they agreed and left my flat as was and, presumably, did do it when I'd gone.

Having said that, I'd always found they were very reasonable in their attitude generally and I had no complaints about them.

So, I guess you know how reasonable (or otherwise) they are.

Of course, the second thought (and what I personally would do in your circumstances) is go to the Council and say "I appreciate you want to do the rewiring on ALL the houses. Can I guess that the reason you are planning to put all the wires on the surface is because some tenants would complain about their decor being disturbed otherwise? Actually, my mother is okay about having her decor disturbed - but she does need/want all wiring hidden within the walls (ie the way rewiring is normally done) and it would really upset her to see this stuff running along the walls. Would it be possible - in my mothers case - to do things the normal way and cover all that wiring up please?"

I think that probably IS what has happened - ie thats how some other tenants actually want it - and the Council should accept such a reasonable request. Make sure that, if they agree, that you get this down in writing - as you will doubtless have to show it to the electricians the second they come in and start in on doing it the wrong way and say "Hang on a minute mate...theres a letter here from the Council that specifies that our house is being done the usual way (ie all hidden away)".

No, it’s done on the surface as it’s MUCH cheaper, as you don’t need to chase walls or pay for a plasterer, they can add days to a job.

moneyistooshorttomention

In that case - its up to OP to see if the Council will accept proof that the wiring is fine as it is - as it would be thoroughly unreasonable of the Council to expect OP's mother to accept such a low standard of workmanship/aesthetically unacceptable job.

teeni

quick question did your friend have permission from the council to touch the electrics ? if they did then the council will already have the evidence they need in their maintenance office as she would have had to provide certificates,
if not then she could be in trouble dependant on their attitude. have a client presently facing possession proceedings for breech of tenancy for exactly this scenario, they did major electrical work without getting permission from the local council, they had a new shower put in and spot light s in the kitchen diner . when the council found out from an anonymous source they issued notice to them.

tberry6686

There's nothing unreasonable about the council surface mounting the wiring in trunking. All councils are strapped for cash and will reduce costs where they can.(surface mounting can be less than half the cost of chasing the wires in)

As long as the electrics work, safe and meet regulations then they can do what they like with them. After all it is their property.

tim123456789

tberry6686 wrote: »

There's nothing unreasonable about the council surface mounting the wiring in trunking. All councils are strapped for cash and will reduce costs where they can.(surface mounting can be less than half the cost of chasing the wires in)

As long as the electrics work, safe and meet regulations then they can do what they like with them. After all it is their property.

But decorating them is at the tenant's expense

IMHO It's not the slightest bit reasonable to expect to be allowed to trash tenant's decoration on a whim

tim

tberry6686

Only problem with decoration is that legally you do not have to have any, electrics, gas etc have to be safe and it is the landlords responsibility to ensure this.

Do you think the landlord should be reponsible for tenents decor along with general maintenance ?

It's not on a whim though is it. I would agree with you if there was no good reason for it but it would appear there is. I people don't want to accept what a landlord does to his own property (as long as it is legal) then they need to look into buying their own home as that is the only way that the decision will be their own.