No Electrical Safety Cert and incorrect fuel type on EPC.

Torriewilliams

It appears the house I took tenancy of in Oct 2019 has no current Electrical Safety Cert.   is this OK?  

I had to ask the landlord repeatedly to put in smoke alarms, these went up in January 2020.  Half the kitchen lights and all hall lights have never worked since taking tenancy.  There is no extract fan in the bathroom, we changed the hanging pendant light fitting (also in the bathroom) to a more suitable style.  the wires for a shaving point are sticking out of the wall. 

Also the EPC certificate for the property shows Oil,  but the property has an old electric boiler with the oil being decommissioned years ago.  The EPC is dated the day before officially moving in so I can only guess was not carried out properly, or checked.   This has had a huge impact on the energy/electricity bill, increasing it by at least two thousand pounds - that came as a shock!

I rented initially through an agent who was responsible for uniting tenant with landlord and not to sort issues or disputes.  

Any ideas what I should do next?  Moving is not an option.
The property is old, rural and beautiful.
I have my trail of emails since beg of tenancy asking landlord for these electrical jobs to be done etc. Recently however, following a leak in the roof the landlord seems more pro active in getting things sorted - and has asked me to find an electrician.  Are there repercussions for living in a house paying £18,000 per annum rent with no electric Safety Cert and and an incorrect EPC for 18 months?
Many thanks.  Torrie 

davidmcn

Torriewilliams said:

Also the EPC certificate for the property shows Oil,  but the property has an old electric boiler with the oil being decommissioned years ago.  The EPC is dated the day before officially moving in so I can only guess was not carried out properly, or checked.

So did you see the EPC before you moved in? Did you think it was oil heating when you viewed the property?

MaryNB

For an existing tenancy, an EICR (electrical inspection condition report) is only a recent legal requirement. They should have had an electrician carry out an inspection by the 1st of April of this year and provide you with a copy of the report by the end of April. 

AdrianC

Torriewilliams said:

It appears the house I took tenancy of in Oct 2019 has no current Electrical Safety Cert.   is this OK?

EICRs have only been required in rental properties since... last Thursday.

Nobody is going to be worried about the lack of one for a while yet.

Also the EPC certificate for the property shows Oil, but the property has an old electric boiler with the oil being decommissioned years ago. The EPC is dated the day before officially moving in so I can only guess was not carried out properly, or checked. This has had a huge impact on the energy/electricity bill, increasing it by at least two thousand pounds - that came as a shock!

So about £100/mo.
At a guess, because you simply can't know the actual difference in oil vs electric heating costs.
Perhaps the oil tank would have been raided and all your oil nicked?
Perhaps the oil boiler was decommissioned because it was astonishingly inefficient, and absolutely stank of oil?
But, of course, you knew this before moving in, right? Or - at the very least - you could have easily done.

Are you comparing the actual figure to the guesstimate on the EPC? Don't. EPCs are notoriously useless, in no aspect more so than the heating costs. ESPECIALLY in a draughty old property.

Torriewilliams

Not 100 but 251 per month.  

Sadly it seems everything’s OK and certs aren’t worth the paper they’re written on. 

Thank you. 

AdrianC

Torriewilliams said:

Not 100 but 251 per month. 

£2,000 guesstimated difference across 18 months...?

Whoever promised you EPCs were gospel lied.

HampshireH

Torriewilliams said:

It appears the house I took tenancy of in Oct 2019 has no current Electrical Safety Cert.   is this OK?  

I had to ask the landlord repeatedly to put in smoke alarms, these went up in January 2020.  Half the kitchen lights and all hall lights have never worked since taking tenancy.  There is no extract fan in the bathroom, we changed the hanging pendant light fitting (also in the bathroom) to a more suitable style.  the wires for a shaving point are sticking out of the wall. 

Also the EPC certificate for the property shows Oil,  but the property has an old electric boiler with the oil being decommissioned years ago.  The EPC is dated the day before officially moving in so I can only guess was not carried out properly, or checked.   This has had a huge impact on the energy/electricity bill, increasing it by at least two thousand pounds - that came as a shock!

I rented initially through an agent who was responsible for uniting tenant with landlord and not to sort issues or disputes.  

Any ideas what I should do next?  Moving is not an option.
The property is old, rural and beautiful.
I have my trail of emails since beg of tenancy asking landlord for these electrical jobs to be done etc. Recently however, following a leak in the roof the landlord seems more pro active in getting things sorted - and has asked me to find an electrician.  Are there repercussions for living in a house paying £18,000 per annum rent with no electric Safety Cert and and an incorrect EPC for 18 months?
Many thanks.  Torrie 

Unless you didn't view the property, the agent said it had oil and not electric when you asked them or you relied solely on the EPC when renting his property without seeing it I cannot understand your statement that the EPC saying Oil has had any impact on you let alone a huge one costing £2k.

Your paying £18k to rent the property. If you are unhappy with repairs speak to the council and see if they can assist. Obviously you will need to evidence your written request for repairs to be carried out when you reported them and not done.

macman

If you thought it was oil fired, then you would surely have made arrangements before signing the TA to establish how much oil was in the tank, and whether this was to be provided FOC or whether you would have to make an additional payment for it? There are no comebacks 18m after the event.
An oil-fired boiler is usually floor standing and much bigger than an electric one, It would have been very obvious which it was when you viewed the property? Or you just needed to ask how the property was heated? Even if the EPC had been accurate, relying on getting such fundamental info the day before you are due to sign the TA is absurd. 
Notwithstanding this, your LL appears to be lazy, incompetent, or both. It's not your job to 'find an electrician': that's what you are paying them £1.5Kpm for. So I would be writing a formal complaint to your LL (not text, not email) pointing out that deficiencies in the electrical system and giving them a date by which you expect these to be remedied. 28 days would be reasonable. 
Much of this is however of your own making if you have let this situation persist for 18m without taking action other than sending a few emails.
I suggest you point out to the LL that the EPC is incorrect and that the EICR is now due by end April: I doubt that they are even aware of this requirement.