Electrical Safety Certs and other questions.

[zaphriel]

Hi,
I'm a student in some pretty poor housing and I was hoping to get some advice.

Firstly, is it a legal requirement for a landlord to provide an electrical safety certificate? And if it is and the flat is deemed unsafe, what happens next?

Secondly, anyone know how old/unsafe a fuse box is if the fuses are wired not trip switches?

Thirdly the charming (!) previous tenants ripped down the pullcord switch in the bathroom before they left. Not a big deal I imagined. There are two live wires and one that I assume is an earth or neutral. As all the minor electrics I have done have been in houses that have been wired after flares were in, this has confused me a little. Anyone know how you wire these up?

(I know the sensible options here are a) ask my landlord (he's already refused) or b) get a sparky in (I'm post grad, I just about have the cash to keep the electric on) so I am grateful for any advice you guys can give)

Thanks in advance.

 

[abrocky]

There is no legal requirement, but are guidelines for landlords such as change of occupancy.

Thou if the landlord did not obtain suitable electrical installation reports, nor keep the wiring up to current regs, they may be open to procecution should someone be hurt, injured or killed due to poor installation.

 

[zaphriel]

Thanks for the quick reply.

So in short unless I zap myself with the old wiring then there is nothing that can be done about it?

 

[RF Lighting]

Unfortunately not really. I think it should be a legal requirement as it is for gas, but for some reason it isn't.

With regards to the pull switch, get on to your landlord and make him get an electrician out to repair it. That's what you pay your rent for.

 

[zaphriel]

I have been on to him, he's said it's not his responsibility and has blamed me for it. He did not inspect the flat between the last tenant leaving and me arriving, so I have been blamed for the extensive damage to pretty much every room that has ensued.

My second concern is that if I do get a sparky in to do it, which will be out of my own pocket, the place will be condemned, which although probably needed, will leave me out on the street. I'm pretty concerned, cause at the minute I am forced to shower in the room and the live wires are exposed.

 

[martinxxxxxx]

Take a look at this

http://www.esc.org.uk/public/news-a...poses-millions-to-serious-electrical-dangers/

Extract

By law, landlords must ensure electrical installations and wiring are maintained in a safe condition throughout the tenancy . And tenants should feel obliged to flag electrical problems as soon as they appear, as well as maintain any electrical items they bring into the house. The consequences for not understanding obligations can be serious. If a landlord is found to be negligent over electrical safety it can lead to prosecution, with a fine of up to £5,000 on each count or imprisonment. This may come as a shock to the 38% of landlords who don’t believe there are any penalties for failing to maintain safety.

 

[SimonH2]

As above, the landlord is responsible - give him the opportunity to fix it, if not then you'll have to get it done yourself and deduct it from the rent. If the electrician does "condemn" the electrics then you'd have to take that up with the landlord - but the electrician won't disconnect you, only tell you something isn't safe. On the other hand, if you were told not to use the electrics on safety grounds, then you would have grounds to withhold the rent as the property would no longer be what you rented, nor habitable.

TBH I'm not sure who would be responsible for taking enforcement action against him.

Though I guess the risk is that if you stand up for your rights then the landlord can give you a section 21 notice and make you move - which I presume you don't particularly want. If he's as bad as it sounds, then I guess the biggest risk is that he gives you a bad reference which makes finding another place even harder.

It does "rather annoy" me when I read stories like this. It's the sort of cowboy that gets the decent and honest landlords amongst us tarred with the same brush. A lot of the regs we have to deal with are as a direct result of b****rds like this causing problems

 

[plugwash]

Thirdly the charming (!) previous tenants ripped down the pullcord switch in the bathroom before they left. Not a big deal I imagined. There are two live wires and one that I assume is an earth or neutral. As all the minor electrics I have done have been in houses that have been wired after flares were in, this has confused me a little. Anyone know how you wire these up?

Can you post a picture, your description is not too clear and I don't want to give advice without knowing the full situation.

Secondly, anyone know how old/unsafe a fuse box is if the fuses are wired not trip switches?

While it's almost certainly not to current standards provided the correct fuse wire is fitted (if in doubt I would fit new fuse wire) I wouldn't regard it as an immediate danger.

 

[zaphriel]

View media item 51603
Apologies for the poor quality, but I am trying to balance on a chair with a light in one hand.

 

[OwainDIYer]

View media item 51603
Apologies for the poor quality, but I am trying to balance on a chair with a light in one hand.

probably live and switched live using red/red cable.

The earth should be green/yellow sleeved.

 

[flameport]

Although it's the wrong thing to do, given what you have already said about the landlord, it's almost certainly easier to just buy a new switch for £2 and fit it yourself.

 

[sparkwright]

Re your photograph - that bare earth wire should not be in one of the switch terminals. Don't know why it's in there, potentially very dangerous.

You must get this put right immediately. Anyone know a kindly electrician in Zaphriel's area?

 

[zaphriel]

So, as I have an able assistant coming to help this afternoon, lives go into L1 and L2 and the earth into the COM port?

Without the ability to test if the switch is non functional swap the lives in L1 and L2.

Am I correct?

I have a wiring diagram that came with the light fitting that I have bought (as the current one is held on the ceiling with cellotape) so hopefully all will be resolved by tea time.

Thanks in advance.

 

[mbga9pgf]

So, as I have an able assistant coming to help this afternoon, lives go into L1 and L2 and the earth into the COM port?

Without the ability to test if the switch is non functional swap the lives in L1 and L2.

Am I correct?

I have a wiring diagram that came with the light fitting that I have bought (as the current one is held on the ceiling with cellotape) so hopefully all will be resolved by tea time.

Thanks in advance.

No, live goes to common, switch live to l1. The earth doesn't do anywhere near the com or l1. There should be a little brass connector in the housing that it connects to;,on this type of switch its kind of redundant as the housing is insulated and you only have 1 cable going in. If there was more than 1 cable in there or the switch housing was metal, it serves more of a purpose. Isolate the electrics and test before getting any screwdriver in there.

So you know, live is red, switch live is black but should have a red sleeve on it to indicate it is switched live.
In new money, brown =live, switch live blue with a brown band.

And you need to get some earth sleeving on the earth, otherwise it could trip your electrics if it touches the live or made switch live.

 

[zaphriel]

I am obviously going to have all the electric off before I attempt. I know I am daft for doing it myself, but I am not quite that daft.

Both the lives are just red, no black evident at all. Will I damage either the electrics or the switch/fitting if they are in the wrong sections and tested? Cause I would assume it just would not function if in the wrong slots, please correct me if I am wrong.