is anyone here a sparky?

[Dmoney]

I need some advice...

just moved into a new place and although its nice, its been a major hassle. only been there one day!

I have a lot of problems, one of which is the electrical installation.

Some mains cable is visible in holes where the cable is run through walls and into trunking that runs along the top of door frames.
Some faceplate on the double sockets are loose, but don't tighten up when you turn the mounting screws. So i imagine the screw of the thread in the back box is stripped.
Others are falling out of the wall, with the metal back box exposed. Obviously this means taking the faceplate of the socket off, and possible removing the back box to fix. I could do it... but I'm not a qualified electrician and it is the landlords responsibility to make sure the electrical installation conforms to particular safety standards.

so, do those issues sounds like they conform?

also... any suggestions for energy efficient alternatives to halogen spotlights? which have the best tone?

[ToneMonkey]

I'm not a sparky (but do work with electric).

As far as I know, the landlord is required to have the house up to the latest wiring specifications and this requirement is retrospective.  Sounds like it may all be a bit dodgy, so I wouldn't go playing wth the metal boxes for the wall.  All it takes in one loose wire in them and then that's it, the best you can hope for is shiteting your pants, the worst is dying with a pair or shitety pants.

I'd take it up with the managing agent, you have a contract with them and not the landlord.

And get some lamps with low energy bulbs   :lol:

[Dmoney]

nah, in this instance, the property is managed by the landlord, not the agency.

HELL yeah.

i think they neglected to mention that the electric is on a pay as you go meter. :(

I have been shafted. kinda.

[Frank]

Like the man says, it's the landlord's responsibility to do that work - and the law now says you can't do work on permanent mains installation yourself in England and Wales (or you can but it has to be checked by a qualified electrician before use). So tell the landlord to sort it out. Mentioning that you can find an electrician and knock the invoice price off the month's rent usually scares even the laziest of landlords into action pretty quick.

[Frank]

My new place had one of those meters when I went to look round, the leccy provider will change it over if you ask nicely. Helps if you're a previous customer who always paid bills on time, otherwise they might ask for a deposit. If they do then ask them if they are legally entitled to demand a deposit. Then say you'll take legal advice and get back to them. BT used to pull that trick with new phone lines, £150 deposit or no phone. Oftel told them to stop doing it, they kept doing it. Electricity companies are catching onto the same dubious business practices.

[Dmoney]

Thanks for the heads up Frank.

Yeah, I wouldn't touch that wiring myself. I don't want to be liable for any fires or anything. I have actually installed sockets in shops, but that was back when I was 16 and working with supervision.

The landlord has to make stuff safe or they can be fined £5000 for each mistake (I think) or face 6 months in prison.

We also have no gas safety certificate, which needs to be provided by law I think.

The problem is the landlord just never has their mobile on, so everything will have to get done by post. I have no email address.
so I'm putting all the issues in a letter and sending it recorded delivery which they have 21 days to reply to. Not replying or replying outside of which, is a criminal offense.

[Roobubba]

Regarding the halogen GU10-type lamps, we've used some LED ones which were incredibly low energy, but also too directional and therefore a bit too dim. You can get energy saving version of GU10 bulbs, which we have in our kitchen. Like a good valve amp, they take a while to warm up, but the tone is just fine when they're there :)

[Dmoney]

Regarding the halogen GU10-type lamps, we've used some LED ones which were incredibly low energy, but also too directional and therefore a bit too dim. You can get energy saving version of GU10 bulbs, which we have in our kitchen. Like a good valve amp, they take a while to warm up, but the tone is just fine when they're there :)

thanks mate!
I'll look into both types.

[tomjackson]

The electrical legislation / requirements are not retrospective otherwise everytime there was an update from the I.E.E. every house would have to be re wired.  My house, like many does not confirm to the 17th edition wiring regulations but recent additions do (extra circuits, spur connections etc).

However any electrician has a duty of care and would not sign off an addition if the rest of the system was not sound.
Electricians do have to test the complete system as well to see if it earthed correctly.

Landlords do not have to provide electrical test certificates or get the system checked to rent the house out.
However, they are responsible for the condition of the installation and certainly if anything goes wrong and somebody is injured.

Check this out

http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/electrical_safety.htm

The quick solution is to tell him you got an electric shock of one of the sockets and you think there is an earth fault

[Dmoney]

well the socket is sticking out of the wall, and while there is no obligation to check it, which is fine, there is an obligation under law to make sure it is safe.

If a child was in my house, it could stick something in the back of a socket. I want the socket fixed. I didn't damage it and I can't fix it myself. It should be the landlords responsibility to have it fixed... surely?

agreed about electrical certification.
The gas certificate must be produced by law and the pipes, flues and appliances must be tested each year by law.

cheers for the link.
I actually found that while digging around, there is also stuff on Shelter DirectGov

[ToneMonkey]

The electrical legislation / requirements are not retrospective otherwise everytime there was an update from the I.E.E. every house would have to be re wired.  My house, like many does not confirm to the 17th edition wiring regulations but recent additions do (extra circuits, spur connections etc).

I think it's different for rentals and owned houses.  Dunno, but it's what one of my mates (who's a landlord) and also the sparky that rewired my house said.

[tomjackson]

I own a house and rent a house out.

Only Installations designed after 30th June 2008 are to comply with BS 7671:2008

Landlords are supposed to undertake a PIR (Periodic Inspection Report) at every change of occupancy.  Any deviations from the current regs (BS 7671:2008) are to be noted on the report but do not need to be changed to comply with the new regs.  The PIR will determine whether the installation os safe and fit for purpose.
Anything that is not safe or fit for purpose MUST be made to be so.

Many Installations designed under 16th or earlier editions are perfectly safe and fit for purpose but in a retrospective sense the 17th edition regs are only a recommendation. 

[ToneMonkey]

I own a house and rent a house out.

Facist Landlord Scum  :P

Interesting to know that info, I'll let my facist landlord scum mate know.  The house we're in (we rent) was rewired recently as everytime we put the emmersion heater on, there was a funny smell.  Turns out it was all wired by an idiot and the shower and heater were wied together with a socket as a junction box and the whole thing was wired with extension cord.  We only found all this out when the light in the front room started to flash while it was switched off

There were also no earths in the entire house and every connection was made with a junction box (there was about 100 of them).  All in all the place was lethal.

[Dmoney]

Anything that is not safe or fit for purpose MUST be made to be so.

I checked that back box last night. went over to carry on painting.
The back box, apart from being exposed metal, has 2 holes in the top big enough to say... spill something in or for a kid to stick something in... getting right inside the socket. Pretty sure you'd agree that this isn't safe.

I found more stuff last night.

I painted til 2 am. Then found the hot water had actually given up. The heating system is in ruin anyway. The radiators are mostly full of air and the valve to bleed on one is threaded in some way, so the only radiator in the bedroom, doesn't appear to be sealed at all. There is also a leaky tap that has ruined the skirting, I thought it was all old damage when i saw it cos there is a lot of rust and it was dry, but it is actually still leaking.

I also haven't been given a gas safety certificate yet, so the boiler my be gasing me. tried to stay there last night but it was SOOOOOOOO cold. and then in the morning i couldn't wash. I had 3 hours attempted sleep in a sleeping bag with a coat over myself then took a bus to work to have a shower.

I would have thought like you say, most of this would be checked and addressed as tenants change.

my deposit hasn't as yet been registered with a protection scheme yet either.

[Dmoney]

you know what...

I feel so bad this morning that I don't think I want to live there now. I've only had the keys 3 days and its been a nightmare.

I need to get advice on this. can't go citizens advice today though. could call shelter but maybe that is for people with bigger problems