Failed EICR and accidental landlord

GDB2222

Neb13 said:

Anyanka1 said:

AdrianC said:

Anyanka1 said:

If the kitchen is already tiled which, presumably, some of it is it would be difficult to rewire without damaging at least a few tiles, don't you think?  Whether making good this damage would be essential is another question, I guess.

So replace those few tiles.

Well, yeah... And cover up the carpets with dust sheets and find at least one more electrician and explore loan options and maybe... Take a breath and just realise you are not cut out to be a landlord..?

I am not cut out to be a landlord, I agree. The sooner I can get house sold the better. It was only meant to be short term solution, unfortunately circumstances changed. I couldnt predict that. 

You do know that you can sell the house with teh tenant in place? Some BTL investors are happy with that.

homersimpson246

As mentioned above you need to see what the electrical inspection report says, if you have any photos of the installation (consumer unit, sockets etc.) that can help to get a view on what the installation is like (i.e. modern sockets and a plastic consumer unit probably not too bad, old sockets and a rewireable fuseboard possibly needs some attention.

Generally you have to be careful with electricians as very few of them fully understand the regulations, I had one tell me the wiring in my garage was undersized so I whipped out my regs book and put him straight.

There is a statement in the front of the wiring regulations which states something along the lines that installations completed to previous editions of the wiring regulations are not necessarily unsafe.

As an example the house i've just moved into (20 years old) has a 16th edition consumer unit with one RCD for the sockets and cooker circuit and no RCD on the lighting circuits.  It doesn't comply to the 18th edition but it is perfectly safe for continued use and would just be noted as a non compliance with current regulations.

fiveacre

When is this EICR coming? It's going to say C2 missing labels from the CU isn't it...

Jumblebumble

Neb13 said:

Hi. I am an accidental landlord. Moved out to care for elderly parent. I was planning on selling house last year and then along came Covid! I have recently had an EICR on the property and have been told it needs a rewire. I've been quoted around 4.5k which is money I do not have. I was also made redundant last year. I want to give the tenant notice but I am worried where I stand as if it takes them 6 months to find new home, the property is not covered my EICR and I fear I will not be insured. It is not an option to take a loan or borrow money to pay for rewire so can anyone please offer some advice. Do I phone insurance company and tell them the situation or just give tenant notice and hope there isn't a problem?! This is making me ill with worry as I do not know where to get any advice. Thanks. 

Please be aware that it is believed that some Electricians are using these EICRs as a license to extract money from landlords under false pretences
Get a second opinion
For example one told a landlord I know that Plastic consumer units were no longer allowed

AdrianC

Jumblebumble said:

For example one told a landlord I know that Plastic consumer units were no longer allowed

He was right.

Plastic CUs are no longer permitted for new installations. They're deemed to be a fire risk, and they need metal enclosures now. A plastic CU would be a C3 on an EICR.

Jumblebumble

AdrianC said:

Jumblebumble said:

For example one told a landlord I know that Plastic consumer units were no longer allowed

He was right.

Plastic CUs are no longer permitted for new installations. They're deemed to be a fire risk, and they need metal enclosures now. A plastic CU would be a C3 on an EICR.

The landlord was told that on a EICR that it was mandatory to have a metal CU before the certificate could be issued
I do understand it may not be as straight forward as being an automatic  C3  as location may considered a factor  in case of escape during fire.

Phil_L_2

The point of an EICR is that it is an Electrical Installation Condition Report.  It cannot be passed or failed.  It is up to the property owner to decide on what to do about the deviations from the current edition of BS7671 as amended which are found.  As previously stated there are three levels and any at C1 should be reported and made safe immediately.  C2 require remedial work and C3 are generally for information.  Every property becomes non-compliant every time the regulations are updated.

My usual MO for obtaining EICR's is to employ a tester on the strict understanding that he will not be given any remedial work other than replace any missing screws or putting grommets in holes (at no extra cost).

The OP needs to see the report and obtain some advice regarding the contents.  Generally, anything which was acceptable at time of installation can be no more than a C3.  The recommendation of  requiring a complete rewire is not specific enough to require any work and many installations which are 50 years old are perfectly safe. 

lesalanos

Phil_L_2 said:

The point of an EICR is that it is an Electrical Installation Condition Report.  It cannot be passed or failed.  It is up to the property owner to decide on what to do about the deviations from the current edition of BS7671 as amended which are found.  As previously stated there are three levels and any at C1 should be reported and made safe immediately.  C2 require remedial work and C3 are generally for information.  Every property becomes non-compliant every time the regulations are updated.

My usual MO for obtaining EICR's is to employ a tester on the strict understanding that he will not be given any remedial work other than replace any missing screws or putting grommets in holes (at no extra cost).

The OP needs to see the report and obtain some advice regarding the contents.  Generally, anything which was acceptable at time of installation can be no more than a C3.  The recommendation of  requiring a complete rewire is not specific enough to require any work and many installations which are 50 years old are perfectly safe. 

It will be classified as satisfactory or unsatisfactory.  The latter gives the landlord 28 days to complete the remedial work