Housing association cooker installation

rustywallet

I have bottled gas which is very expensive for heating and cooking. My oven doesn't work, so we are going to buy a new cooker. I've decided to get an electric cooker instead of gas. The housing association say that they will not install and I will need to find a registered person to disconnect the gas and another to fit a plug for the new cooker. I'll need to get permission to do this from the HA. 

I also asked if I could pay the HA (as I was told many years ago this was an option for something else), they said no.

I was surprised that they wouldn't do this for me as they originally installed my lpg gas cooker although I bought it. 

On the shelter website it says:

Repair issues

The council or housing association is responsible for most repairs in your home including:

• gas appliances

• heating and hot water

• toilets, baths, pipes and sinks

• electrical wiring and any appliances they provide

• common areas such as lifts and communal entrances

• the structure and exterior of the building – including the roof, walls, windows and external doors

Your tenancy agreement sets out any extra responsibilities your landlord has.

Chandler85

They are only responsible to repair things they installed and own, you can't install something, then say it is broken and expect them to fix it.

Most HAs do offer the installs etc at a cost to the tenant, because it helps them ensure everything is installed properly in their properties.  But a lot are still operating with COVID restrictions, rightly or wrongly, and see these as extras which they don't need to provide as oppose to a gas safe check or a boiler repair that they are responsible for.

You'll have to get "permission" and then arrange it yourself it seems.

canaldumidi

rustywallet said:

I have bottled gas which is very expensive for heating and cooking. My oven doesn't work,

Repair issues

The council or housing association is responsible for most repairs in your home including:

• gas appliances

• heating and hot water

• etc
  

So the HA should repair your existing oven. Have you asked them to do this?

we are going to buy a new cooker. I've decided to get an electric cooker instead of gas. The housing association say that they will not install and I will need to find a registered person to disconnect the gas and another to fit a plug for the new cooker. I'll need to get permission to do this from the HA.

Your cooker, therefore your responsibility to buy and install it safely. You could of course install it next to/near your existing LPG cooker, which you could leave in place - this would save you the cost of a GasSafe contractor to remove it.

I also asked if I could pay the HA (as I was told many years ago this was an option for something else), they said no.

I was surprised that they wouldn't do this for me as they originally installed my lpg gas cooker although I bought it.

I imagine their policy has changed.

FreeBear

If this is a stand-alone cooker & hob, you will not find one with a 13A plug - They need to be hard wired in to a dedicated switch which in turn needs a heavy duty cable back to the consumer unit (fuse board). Is there a spare fuse/mcb for a cooker ?

It will be messy work for an electrician to fit the cables, switches, and termination plates. If there isn't space in the consumer unit for an additional fuse/mcb, then a new one will be required (more expense)..

Note - You can get mini ovens with one or two rings on top - These will run off a 13A plug, but the rings are nasty (slow to heat up, slow to cool down). A mini oven in conjunction with a two ring induction hob would be another alternative.

rustywallet

Thanks. No worries it looks like I have to find someone. Well 2 people, one to disconnect the cooker and one to fit the new one. 

I actually thought for now I'd just plug it in once the gas cooker was gone!

I've just checked, there is a capped off single size thing behind the cooker, I'm guessing this is where the electrician will need to connect the new cooker - then on the wall is a cooker switch. the cooker switch sits together with a socket and socket switch.

canaldumidi

rustywallet said:

I've just checked, there is a capped off single size thing behind the cooker, I'm guessing this is where the electrician will need to connect the new cooker - then on the wall is a cooker switch. the cooker switch sits together with a socket and socket switch.

Is the 'capped off thing' a pipe or a wire? Sounds more like a gas pipe! Got a photo? A cooker switch is a good sign and should hopefully mean you don't need any new wiring back to the consumer unit.

rustywallet

Damn should have taken a picture before i pushed the cooker back and started tea

It looks like a capped off plug socket as it's a square white plastic and single socket sized. Hope that helps, otherwise pic. to follow.

canaldumidi

Yeah that's where the cable from the 'cooker switch' ends and the new cooker connects in. Not sure what the Electric Regs are (someone will know) but I connected my cooker to that. Basic principal is like a 3 pin plug: live, neutral and earth, but thicker wires - you just have to connect the right wire to the right connection!

More sensible posters, and those who know the regulations, will advise you to use an electrician........

rustywallet

A high street store offers a fitting service, seems a very good option. No names mentioned.

"If you’re planning to switch fuel type – from gas to electricity, for example – our engineers can help, but you must have the correct supply already in place, and within one metre of where you want the new cooker to go."

I'm going to ring them, see if it is something they can do. 

Here's a picture, sorry it's a bit rubbish, I had to hold my phone behind the cooker. That isn't chip fat by the way, it's where the paint has come away from all that cleaning   

Flugelhorn

canaldumidi said:

Yeah that's where the cable from the 'cooker switch' ends and the new cooker connects in. Not sure what the Electric Regs are (someone will know) but I connected my cooker to that. Basic principal is like a 3 pin plug: live, neutral and earth, but thicker wires - you just have to connect the right wire to the right connection!

More sensible posters, and those who know the regulations, will advise you to use an electrician........

My father would have happily rewired it - he did the one when we moved house in the early 90s - these days however the rules and regs seem to require someone with the right chit to hand

deannagone

It looks exactly what I've used to hard wire my various electric cookers into the oven circuit.  You've already seen the oven circuit in your fuse box, so this is what the HA installed to allow electric cookers to be used in the property.  

I too have to confesss that rather than get a professional to do it, my rather handy ex (current at the time) installed it.  He had to get a special black cable that isn't supposed to be sold to non professionals but with his gift of the gab, he managed to persuade a supplier to sell one to him.

I did this three years ago.  But times have changed.  The days when social housing LL will do a long list of repairs are over.  Nowadays there's quite a few things that they now won't do, that they used to do 20 years ago.  And they require you to prove you are getting properly qualified people to do these jobs (like years ago I installed a kitchen in a council house, with full knowledge of the LL, but nowadays if I wanted to do that, I'd have to present plans to the council for them to assess and pass them to ensure they complied with safety guidelines and I'd have to present a list of qualified professionals to do the work rather than be able to do the unit fitting, flooring and tiling myself). 

Annoyingly I got a grant through the council to put in a partly adapted kitchen, the work was all done through the council.  They appointed the contractors who were difficult to deal with and made mistakes.  The kitchen might have passed the council's safety guidelines but was it useable - heck no.  I had to reposition things to make sure the washing machine didn't stop me opening a cupboard door, the design/layout of the kitchen was awful.  And this was done by council authorised and appointed contractors. 

The kitchen I installed years ago passed approval after it had been installed (it was just a quick visit by someone in the council) but no problems at all with useability.  I also had no leaks because the sink Ubend drain pipes were installed properly and didn't leak.  Then, this time it did.  They also tried to install the wrong cupboards in the wrong place and some of them they installed were damaged.  How they didn't spot this I can't begin to imagine.  So they were approved but not overly competent 'professionals' in my opinion.  The whole installation was a nightmare, frankly.  But me as the tenant, wasn't give any recognition at all as I didn't have the qualifications. But there were things I spotted that no one else did. And no one listened.

But it is as it is.  If they demand professionals have to do the installation, that's what you have to get.  I do understand that this is to stop DIY lacking tenants creating danger with their installations, but it also limits what you can do to your property.  For example, I will never have a shower here which I desperately need due to the 5 year old boiler and water pressure in this place.  So every bath I reluctantly climb into causes pain and safety issues (very difficult to get in and out of because of my arthritis, I don't have baths until I am desperate now which affects how I feel about how I look).