Landlord: Replace Electrical Consumer Unit to comply with latest standards

Sterlingtimes

My flat was built in a large city centre tower block in 2004.

My agent has arranged the following:

Replace the Electrical Consumer Unit to comply with the latest standards			570
Admin cost for Negotiating, arranging, providing access and issuing a 5-year certificate			50

I am proceeding because I want to take no chances on electrical safety, but I wonder: is a change of board needed after 20 years?

user1977

Not unless it was actually faulty, in my opinion. There's no principle that you need to upgrade everything whenever the regulations change.

theartfullodger

Depends exactly how the regulations are worded.  Obvs..  They are not all worded the same.  Which country? e.g. Wales, NI...?

Bigphil1474

It could be a requirement of the landlords insurance.

theartfullodger

Bigphil1474 said:

It could be a requirement of the landlords insurance.

Bigphil1474 said:

It could be a requirement of the landlords insurance.

...but not the requirement of an alternative insurer....

tacpot12

The most important safety feature to be found in any consumer unit, IMHO, is an RCD. If there is one RCD protecting most of the circuits, then replacement of the consumer unit is unnecessary, providing there are no holes in it where someone might accidentally poke a finger inside.

Consumer Units with a single RCDs haven't been standard since 17th Edition of the Wiring Regulations, which came in 2008. So your consumer unit might have just one RCD, but providing if it is protecting all the circuits (or the ones that are not protected have 3mm of steel protecting the cables over their entire run) then it is as safe as any modern installation and NO safer than the new consumer unit being proposed. 

Even if that Consumer Unit has RCBOs for every circuit, there is no increase in safety. Extra RCDs/RCBOs just reduce the nuisance effect of a RCD tripping and taking out circuits that were not affected by the fault. 

That said, RCD technology has improved over the last 20 years, and newer RCDs will also provide protection against DC currents as well as AC. Also a 20 year old RCD is probably not going to operate reliably when needed. You (or the tenant)  have been testing them every six months, haven't you? 

If the current RCD is protecting all the circuits, I would consider replacing the RCD as a priority to ensure the RCD works when required, and if you can't get a new RCD to fit the current consumer unit, then replacing the whole consumer unit would be essential.

if it isn't protecting all the curcuits, and you aren't sure that the cables for these circuits aren't protected by 3mm of steel along their whole length, then upgrading the consumer unit and having RCBOs for all the circuits is, IMHO, necessary for the safety of the tenants. If you can't get RCBos to fit your current consumer unit, or the required number won't fit, then upgrading the consumer unit (possibly for a much larger one) is necessary.

I'm a landlord BTW. 

Section62

Sterlingtimes said:

...

I am proceeding because I want to take no chances on electrical safety, but I wonder: is a change of board needed after 20 years?

Do you know if the consumer unit is the original one from 2004, and hasn't been replaced more recently because a previous owner was told they had to have a newer one?

Has the electrical system been tested/inspected by a suitably qualified person recently?

Rodders53

Picture of what is there now would help.  (Clearly showing the markings/labelling of the circuits i.e. lid open.

The IEE/IET Wiring Regs are NEVER retrospective.  But Landlord's safety responsibilities and regulations may trump that in some parts of the UK & NI.

Has an EICR been done recently?  (Rentals need them more often than normal domestic places - 5 yearly?).  If so, that (with personal identifying info redacted) would also help others to comment accurately on the issues it has raised (if any).

Modern CUs are metal (to contain a fire inside in the very unlikely event of that happening). 
Have Surge Protection Devices to help protect sensitive devices, and would use RCBOs (with type A RCD and type B MCB trip curves built into one module) for each circuit. 
Older CUs have type AC RCDs and separate MCBs with, maybe, not all circuits protected by RCD. 
Those type AC RCDs can be disrupted by DC faults to earth from equipment with e.g. inverter-motors inside so are now deprecated (type A are tolerant of those DC fault currents)... but far better than no RCD at all.

Not sure where the 3mm steel protection idea comes from (steel electrical conduit is 1.6 to 2mm thick walls at best). It is some time since I've read a copy of the IET regs from cover to cover though

Sterlingtimes

Bigphil1474 said:

It could be a requirement of the landlords insurance.

Thank you. I will need to check my landlord's insurance. But it may fall to the wider insurance for the flats as a whole.

Sterlingtimes

tacpot12 said:

If it isn't protecting all the curcuits, and you aren't sure that the cables for these circuits aren't protected by 3mm of steel along their whole length, then upgrading the consumer unit and having RCBOs for all the circuits is, IMHO, necessary for the safety of the tenants. If you can't get RCBos to fit your current consumer unit, or the required number won't fit, then upgrading the consumer unit (possibly for a much larger one) is necessary.

I'm a landlord BTW. 

You have been generous with your time in responding to me, for which I am grateful. This has been most helpful.

Unfortunately, I live some distance away from the flat and never visit personally, so I am reliant upon the agent. Certificates have been issued at the previous 5-yearly inspections. 

My tenants are overseas postgraduate students who have a habit of doing non-standard things. Their misdemeanours are mainly associated with water, but I do not want to take undue risk on the electrics. 

Sterlingtimes

Rodders53 said:

Not sure where the 3mm steel protection idea comes from (steel electrical conduit is 1.6 to 2mm thick walls at best). It is some time since I've read a copy of the IET regs from cover to cover though

Thank you. This has forced me to do a deep search of all of my correspondence, and I have found the following:

The apartments are now well over 20 years old and the electrical consumer units ( the fuse boxes ) due to regulation changes do not meet current safety standards and need to be upgraded. Since 2020 there has been a requirement to carry out an Electrical Installation Condition Report every 5 years so in 2025 all rented apartments must have this inspection and will now fail this inspection due to the need for additional safety devices to protect life particularly in the bathrooms. WITHOUT THIS CONDITION REPORT IT IS ILLEGAL TO RENT YOUR APARTMENT We have looked at how to assist you to upgrade the consumer unit and the most cost effective way is to replace the unit with a new unit that meets all current standards and requirements. The unit proposed will ensure every circuit will be fitted with safety devices that ensure no injury will be suffered by the occupants and another device to ensure items like computers, telephones, televisions etc are protected against surges that will damage them. We have worked with the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting and the electrical contractor that carries out work on the main building and negotiated a fee that we believe is very competitive and we ensure you are using a registered competent contractor to carry out this work The new consumer unit with be supplied with an Electrical Installation Certificate and a Electrical Installation Condition Report to send to your letting agent The fee including all the certification is £570-00