Electrical safety in rental property scotland

[RobTi]

Hi looking for some help, my niece rents a flat that only has one socket in the kitchen on the old cooker unit so has and extension plugged in and just found out another extension plugged into this(I know ) so the plug that is in the cooker unit has melted and left a pin in the unit, she killed power and pulled plug out(at least a bit of sense). So what’s the law on old fuse boxes and anything about minimum sockets in a rental property?
Thanks
Sorry update she has now told me that she has a newish fusebox with the trips mcb/rcd (sorry don’t know the correct term), so why did nothing trip

 

[bernardgreen]

so why did nothing trip

Consider an electric fire where the elements glow red hot in normal use, nothing trips then.

A poor connection in the cooker unit ( probably the contact to the plug pin ) started to heat up and this heat melted the unit. That heat would be far less than the heat that an electric fire can produce but enough to melt the unit.

 

[conny]

The plug may have melted because it had a loose connection, which causes overheating.
Alternatively it may be a loose connection in the back of the switch.
With the power completely off I would suggest removing the switch front and checking to see if any cables are loose/burnt. If they are burnt then you need to inform your landlord to get it seen to asap. It goes without saying that if you fit a new plug to the extension make sure the connections are tight.

 

[RobTi]

Thanks I thought it would have been a loose connection and it was arcing and melted the plug. I have told her I will fit a new plug but then she is adamant that she will be keeping the extensions plugged in for the one socket in the kitchen. I will need to have a look as an ex council property there must be more somewhere

 

[conny]

Multiple extensions are not ideal but it depends what she is running off them.
Small low power things will be alright but if she is running, say, a washing machine, fridge, tumble dryer, kettle off them then it could start causing problems, especially if she tries to run a few of them at the same time. You can only draw a certain amount of power before the fuse should blow, but with loose connections you can be drawing less than the maximum but cause things to get hot.

 

[ericmark]

See page 6 of the good practice guide it is not law, and it isn't even part of the regulations as such, but the guide to the regulations went OTT, not got it to hand, but seem to remember it listed minimum numbers which was higher than any electrician was likely to fit, so it is not in general followed.

Nothing should burn out, does not matter how many extension leads are plugged into each other, but if running on the limit a slightly lose terminal will over heat, as it expands and contracts with the heat it compresses the wires and terminal then releases them again allowing it to become looser and looser, until they finally burn out. But in theory the fuse should rupture before any damage, however the 13 amp plug has been modified over the years, with finger protectors so it can't dissipate the heat as well as the original, even using white instead of brown reduces the ability to get rid of the heat from the fuse.

However most 13A appliances only draws full 13A for a short time, so it does not have the time to warm up. As you put more and more appliances on the plug so the time it is used for increases as it has no time to cool, and once a plug over heats in a socket it damages the spring grip on the pins on the socket, so once a plug over heats, the socket also needs changing.

It is really down to the guy doing the electrical installation condition report (EICR) as to if he included it in his report, clearly if he has not listed it the land lord would be unaware, tenants I think now have to be given a copy of the EICR but law Scotland, England and Wales slightly different so not sure on Scottish rules.

Likely better to ask please, rather than trying to force. And at the moment it will be a little different.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Rules are different in Scotland i know, sounds like the landlord may have done the minimum needed (replaced the old rewirable fuses and installed RCD). Don't bet on finding many other sockets, there may be another one somewhere but if it was 60s built then kettle and fridge was about it for appliances

 

[john4703]

I look after a couple of rented properties in Scotland. They are owned by a charity but I help manage them. There is a EICR done between each tenancy on one property that tends to have tenants for a year or so. There is also an EICR done on the other where the tenant has been for 15 years. Anything not up to standard is changed. As far as I know there is not minimum number of sockets in any room.

 

[ericmark]

I think in Scotland the EICR has to be done every 5 years by law the IET said every 10 years and change of occupant but with rented property first Scotland then Wales and finally England passed laws on EICR on rented property.

The problem is working out who can do the EICR, I seem to remember in Scotland there was some thing about resent training, don't think same is true in Wales and England, so in Wales my son and I could walk around a house belonging to us and raise a document reporting on the condition of the electricians, in fact when I bought this house we employed a surveyor to inspect the house who made comments on the electrical condition, so using English language we have an EICR for this house, although it did not follow the laid down tests found in BS7671 issued by the IET/BSi which is considered the normal level. However BS7671 is not law, and it is designed for all premises, the IET do publish forms for the EICR but these do not stipulate how many sockets, the electrical safety council do refer to dangers when there are not enough sockets, and the guide to BS7671 also lays down numbers that should be in each room, but again a recommendation not law.

As said in Scotland unlike England and Wales there is a requirement for the person carrying out the tests, but the link to the requirement has failed, and since I live in Wales not really interested. Although would like to see what is included in the Scottish report in your case, law came in 2016 so you should have one, so what does it say?

 

[john4703]

As said in Scotland unlike England and Wales there is a requirement for the person carrying out the tests, but the link to the requirement has failed, and since I live in Wales not really interested. Although would like to see what is included in the Scottish report in your case, law came in 2016 so you should have one, so what does it say?

I've never seen one in full. I received this in an email from the letting agent.
The electrical certificate and PAT are due for renewal at ---. Are you happy for me to arrange this with one of our contractors?
I agreed and got this reply
Our electrician has been out for the periodic inspection and it has been noted that the property still has an old fuse board which is now not up to standard with current electrical regulations. Unfortunately to move the new tenant in, the fuse board will require upgrading. The cost of the board is £340.00. Please let me know if you wish to proceed with this.
I could have argued that regulations are not retrospective but I agreed as for me a duty of care overcomes anything else. I can't get a copy now as the letting agents are working from home for obvious reasons.

 

[Adam_151]

I can't get a copy now as the letting agents are working from home for obvious reasons.

I would have thought they could email it as a PDF? As I am imagining that is how they would have received it from the contractor if it was post lockdown anyway, and probably most likely at any other time, saves the costs of printing and paper

 

[john4703]

I would have thought they could email it as a PDF? As I am imagining that is how they would have received it from the contractor if it was post lockdown anyway, and probably most likely at any other time, saves the costs of printing and paper

It was about a year ago so I don't want to bother them, I know the electrician and he is fair and honest. The consumer unit was rewirable fuses so an upgrade was a good idea.