What does a landlords Electrical Safety Certificate check entail.

turnitround

My stepdaughters landlord is sending someone round to do the electrical safety check tomorrow and as she will be at work she has asked if I would mind being present when the check is being done as she will be at work. 

I said yes thinking it would probably only take an hour or so. now she has told me that they have said they will be there for around 4 hours. Its a 3 bed semi built in the 1960s.

Can anyone tell me what the electricians will need to do as I had no idea I would be needed for that amount of time. Will they need furniture moving or carpets lifting? I just want to be prepared if possible as if those things are needed I can tell her to prepare tonight rather than me getting there in the morning and finding there are  things that needed doing beforehand.

macman

You don't have to do anything. He will need to test all the circuits and do a physical inspection, around all the rooms, so this cannot be done in an hour.
It would be helpful if you can show him where the CU is located though.
And get some biscuits in too...

turnitround

Thanks macman.
Presumably then he will need to get at every socket which will be a challenge.  The fridge , freezer and washing machine will need to be pulled out and I also know there is a wall socket behind a large double wardrobe and another behind a welsh dresser which cant be reached without them being moved. 
No wonder she is going to work and leaving it to me, lol.

newlywed

For our electrical inspection a couple of years ago they weren’t interested in the sockets behind furniture. 

They pulled some downlighters out and checked the earth cables and things.

might depend on the company though… we are in social housing so likely a large contact.

TELLIT01

I would only expect them to check accessible sockets and include in their report which sockets could not be checked.

Ectophile

The quality of these inspections varies enormously.  Worst case - "electrician" turns up and sees that it's a 3 bed house.  They rummage through their pile of pre-filled "pass" certificates until they find a suitable one.  Then they post that to the landlord.

macman

If the inspection has been scheduled to take 4 hours, then it's reasonable to assume that it''ll be done properly: even if an hour of that time is spent swilling tea and eating Hobnobs.

FFHillbilly

every socket and every light should be checked.
if sockets aren't accessible then it can be noted on the certificate but it does mean that circuit can't be fully tested, so it really needs to be for a good reason.

Risteard

I always explain to people that an inspection of a domestic dwelling will take all day (or at least a very large part of it).

Inexplicably many still decide that you really meant it would take half an hour or something.

A thorough inspection of an electrical installation takes time. Recording the findings also take a substantial amount of time.

Risteard

FFHillbilly said:

every socket and every light should be checked.
if sockets aren't accessible then it can be noted on the certificate but it does mean that circuit can't be fully tested, so it really needs to be for a good reason.

Not quite true. Sampling is usually employed. It would be impractical to remove every accessory to inspect it. Not only that, but it would vastly increase the chance of introducing faults to the installation.