Level 2 Survey old style fuse box

sheramber

A friend has just had a new kitchen fitted, In the process she needed a new electric socket. The electrician told her he could only do that if he fitted a new consumer unit as she had an old,

There was no rewiring of the house, just the new socket.

TheJP

bflare said:

desthemoaner said:

As others have suggested, if the house was built in the mid 80s then the basic installation should be sound, so I think its unlikely that a full rewire would be required.  Having said that, only a qualified electrician could confirm exactly what's needed to bring the installation up to standard.

Asking here will give you ideas, but an EICR is the way forward. 

I have contacted my solicitor and said I would like an EICR carrying out to assess. 

The naivety. OP if you want an EICR then book and pay for it yourself. This route is going to take a week for you to find out the seller will say the same thing.  

bflare

TheJP said:

bflare said:

desthemoaner said:

As others have suggested, if the house was built in the mid 80s then the basic installation should be sound, so I think its unlikely that a full rewire would be required.  Having said that, only a qualified electrician could confirm exactly what's needed to bring the installation up to standard.

Asking here will give you ideas, but an EICR is the way forward. 

I have contacted my solicitor and said I would like an EICR carrying out to assess. 

The naivety. OP if you want an EICR then book and pay for it yourself. This route is going to take a week for you to find out the seller will say the same thing.  

I have contacted my solicitor as I was told I had to route any queries etc through them instead of contacting the vendor directly. I have no issue paying for the EICR myself. 

bflare

dimbo61 said:

Well you can ask your solicitor to request the Owner has an EICR report done and the owner can say NO.
Where do you go from there ?
When was the property built as the electrics look rather old.
If the Landlord has been renting out the property since 1999 I think it's long overdue for a rewire and lazy Landlord has been failing to carry out his legal obligations.
Skimping on the electrics means skimping on other things 

I have no problem paying for the EICR myself. I am a first time buyer and to be honest I wasn't sure who's responsibility it was to have this test done. The property has never been rented. The house was built in 1985 according to the surveyor but I'm not too sure about that as the first record of sale was in 1999. Since 1999 it's had the same owner. 

Slithery

bflare said:

It appears that it has been the same tenants since 1999 so I guess they have just not needed to update the fuse box. 

bflare said:

The property has never been rented.

These two comments can't both be true. Which one is it?

bflare

Slithery said:

bflare said:

It appears that it has been the same tenants since 1999 so I guess they have just not needed to update the fuse box. 

bflare said:

The property has never been rented.

These two comments can't both be true. Which one is it?

Apologies. Not tenants. The same owners. 

Slithery

OK then. There is no legal obligation for homeowners to ever get their electrics checked.

If you want an EICR then you pay for it yourself. You should arrange access to the property for your chosen electrician through the EA, it's nothing to do with your solicitor.

TheJP

bflare said:

TheJP said:

bflare said:

desthemoaner said:

As others have suggested, if the house was built in the mid 80s then the basic installation should be sound, so I think its unlikely that a full rewire would be required.  Having said that, only a qualified electrician could confirm exactly what's needed to bring the installation up to standard.

Asking here will give you ideas, but an EICR is the way forward. 

I have contacted my solicitor and said I would like an EICR carrying out to assess. 

The naivety. OP if you want an EICR then book and pay for it yourself. This route is going to take a week for you to find out the seller will say the same thing.  

I have contacted my solicitor as I was told I had to route any queries etc through them instead of contacting the vendor directly. I have no issue paying for the EICR myself. 

Why not go through your EA for this type of check, again the solicitor will tell you to sort it yourself.

ele_91

It will be quicker to go through the EA and for them to organise access for the EICR with the vendor. They could probably have it sorted today if you have organised an electrician.

desthemoaner

bflare said:

dimbo61 said:

Well you can ask your solicitor to request the Owner has an EICR report done and the owner can say NO.
Where do you go from there ?
When was the property built as the electrics look rather old.
If the Landlord has been renting out the property since 1999 I think it's long overdue for a rewire and lazy Landlord has been failing to carry out his legal obligations.
Skimping on the electrics means skimping on other things 

I have no problem paying for the EICR myself. I am a first time buyer and to be honest I wasn't sure who's responsibility it was to have this test done. The property has never been rented. The house was built in 1985 according to the surveyor but I'm not too sure about that as the first record of sale was in 1999. Since 1999 it's had the same owner. 

You came here in good faith, and admitted your lack of knowledge on the topic when you asked for help. Nobody has the right to accuse you of "naivety", nor are they justified in talking down to you.

However, its worth repeating the point: solicitors are there for the legal stuff, and your contact for arranging surveys, contractors' visits etc is the seller's EA. If you're particularly concerned that a seller won't allow you to organise such checks there are two options: 1)Walk away, or 2)Factor in significant expense for potential remedial works, and get the EICR done when you move in. Hopefully costs will be modest.