IS THIS LEGAL?Only 1 electric socket in a room

Mozette

I'm guessing it's an old house? My houses have all been old. The first was like.. ooh, electric, well, we'll just try it... My current house; I've had loads more sockets put in. Have a word with your LL, make him/her see that it is a problem - say you're considering moving - and more would be good.

PasturesNew

maytaurus wrote: »

Thanks for all your replies
... the landlord isn't interested in doing any work on the property.

She has completely re-decorated the whole house,
had laminate flooring throughout the downstairs, tiled the bathroom floor to ceiling and fitted a new tv aerial
so you'd think he could stretch to an electric socket!!

Nope... he's onto a good thing... give her another 6 months in there and the house will be perfect to put up for sale!

wherediditallgo

melancholly wrote: »

you know, i have never looked at that before renting.... and i only have 2 double sockets now and so need extension cables - but i guarentee that when i end up looking for another place it will be on my check list!! glad that this time i get to learn from someone else's mistake rather than mine!

When I first left home in the early 80s, my Mum told me to check electric sockets, the location of the gas meter, the fusebox & the water stopcock, & my means of escape in the event of fire. Her reasoning was that anything missing outside of those would be nothing more than an inconvenience, but if I wasn't aware of those particular things, it could be a matter of life or death. Many moons have passed since I left home, & now I'd add smoke alarms to that list.

wherediditallgo

TJ27 wrote: »

The HMO Management regs are full of good stuff for tenants though, so here they are http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2006/20060372.htm )

Thanks for posting this link - it makes very interesting reading.

TJ27 wrote: »

Your local council may be able to serve a notice on the landlord telling him to provide more sockets. Then if he doesn't, it's illegal.

But it won't be building control you need to contact, it'll be "Private rented enforcement" or "environmental health" or something.

I'd be very surprised if the council did anything about it, because many of their own properties are just like that. My side of my road is at least 60% council houses that were converted into council flats some 20-30 years ago. Work was done in those properties in the last couple of years under the Decent Homes Scheme - the work was to improve kitchens, put in better windows etc, & the properties were inspected by surveyors prior to work starting. There were a few properties where the radiators were either not working at all, or were so old & ineffective that it was cheaper to replace them. Boilers were also replaced except where they were less than 3 years old. Apart from that, no work was done to gas or electrics other than to ensure the installations were left in no worse a condition than they had been before the work started.

I accompanied the residents officer when she was doing visits to inspect the work & get details of any problems from residents after the works were done (it was easier to get a long snagging list of everyone's issues then get the men back for a week or two to deal with them all in one hit), & I saw at least 40 flats. Every single one of those flats had only one socket in each bedroom, even in the two & three-bedroomed properties. I would have expected the surveyors to be aware of any legal requirement to provide more sockets, but no changes were made. My home is different because I'm a good cook, so I sweet-talked the workmen into doing a few extra jobs for me in return for decent home-cooked meals while they were working, & as much coffee as their bladders could handle. I can't see a council trying to make a landlord do something they're not prepared to do themselves in their own properties. They might make the suggestion, but I bet they don't apply any more pressure than that.

melancholly

wherediditallgo wrote: »

When I first left home in the early 80s, my Mum told me to check electric sockets, the location of the gas meter, the fusebox & the water stopcock, & my means of escape in the event of fire. Her reasoning was that anything missing outside of those would be nothing more than an inconvenience, but if I wasn't aware of those particular things, it could be a matter of life or death. Many moons have passed since I left home, & now I'd add smoke alarms to that list.

i think that tomorrow i will be investigating the location of the stop !!!!! i know how to stop the water at each tap, but not altogether....... been renting for 8 years now..... feeling a bit silly for not thinking of that sooner!!

i'd also check for CO alarms too these days!

maytaurus

RE;PasturesNew
'Nope... he's onto a good thing... give her another 6 months in there and the house will be perfect to put up for sale!'
I AGREE ! :mad:
I HAVE SAID THIS TO HER!
Everytime she has mentioned anything that needs doing on the property he says
he's 'THINKING OF SELLING IT' :rotfl:
She has asked how much he wants for it?
But never gets any further than that .............WONDER WHY? NOT
:xmassign:

TJ27

wherediditallgo wrote: »

I'd be very surprised if the council did anything about it, because many of their own properties are just like that.

I can't see a council trying to make a landlord do something they're not prepared to do themselves in their own properties. They might make the suggestion, but I bet they don't apply any more pressure than that.

You're probably right that it would be difficult to serve a notice for inadequate sockets alone. It's perhaps the sort of thing that might be tagged onto a notice for something more major.

But in my seven years or so of serving notices on private landlords I don't think I've ever stopped to think, "I wonder if I should be doing this because there might be some of our council houses with similar problems." I've never known a landlord to appeal against enforcement action on those grounds either. It's just not something which is considered.