here are a couple more examples of DIYnot!!!!

[dynomo]

Decided to inspect another rental property of mine, and here is what was revealed up in the loft!!!

This grey pedant wire was hanging off a joist up in the loft!!!! Can you believe it, nothing supporting it, just relying on tight connections at the terminals to hold it in place!! The light fitting itself was a fancy chrome one and much heavier than a standard one.

Heres a junction box up there, luckily both the exposed L + N served no purpose in the circuit:

And last but not least, here is no way to hang a light pendant. The green wire you see is wrapped around a nail fixed above into the joist to support the electric cable!! And not only this, the cable then connects to a 13A plug and plugs direct into the ring main!! WTF!!

If only I could go back in time, catch the rascal who did all this!

 

[ColJack]

hey, it was all i had at the time..

I ran out of earth wire after i hung the light, but I had plenty of T+E..

there was a cable clip on that chrome light cable too, must have fallen out..

 

[dynomo]

Right, West Midlands, here I come!!!

Im gona hang you with that dodgy T+E you see above!!!

On a serious note though, wouldn't you be so cheesed if you saw this in your home, I can imagine what you real time sparkies would do to one of these cowboys if u wer able to confront him/her

 

[2scoops0406]

Strangely unlike gas, there is no compunction for a landlord to have an electrical inspection on a propery prior to letting it out.

 

[dynomo]

Strangely unlike gas, there is no compunction for a landlord to have an electrical inspection on a propery prior to letting it out.

well im having all 3 of my properties inspected after seeing this. All 3 are extremely old and in need of modernisation. It can only be worthwhile as I am the one held responsible for the safety of my tenants.

 

[2scoops0406]

Strangely unlike gas, there is no compunction for a landlord to have an electrical inspection on a propery prior to letting it out.

well im having all 3 of my properties inspected after seeing this. All 3 are extremely old and in need of modernisation. It can only be worthwhile as I am the one held responsible for the safety of my tenants.

Very commendable.

 

[Chri5]

Strangely unlike gas, there is no compunction for a landlord to have an electrical inspection on a propery prior to letting it out.

Are you sure, I thought that the rules for multiple occupancy dwellings which include a full fire alram system, fire doors to all rooms had a requirement for a PIR on an annual basis.

On a side note, local councils have given landlords a 12 month 'holiday' to get to know the multiple occupancy regs- Enfield Council (my patch) have been told to kick 4r5e and start fining dodgy landlords.

The fine is up to £20k and closure of the building until work is certificated as acceptable by the council.

 

[Qedelec]

We haven't corner the market in idiots. I have just come back from Spain, and all the buses I travelled on had 'life hammers' (for breaking the windows in an emergency), fixed to their holders with nylon tiewraps.

 

[dynomo]

anyone know wat the law states about keeping european orientated tenants in a property, i hear you can keep 3 max without having to notify your local council...

 

[2scoops0406]

Strangely unlike gas, there is no compunction for a landlord to have an electrical inspection on a propery prior to letting it out.

Are you sure, I thought that the rules for multiple occupancy dwellings which include a full fire alram system, fire doors to all rooms had a requirement for a PIR on an annual basis.

On a side note, local councils have given landlords a 12 month 'holiday' to get to know the multiple occupancy regs- Enfield Council (my patch) have been told to kick 4r5e and start fining dodgy landlords.

The fine is up to £20k and closure of the building until work is certificated as acceptable by the council.

Yep, quite sure.

 

[deltanetworks]

Strangely unlike gas, there is no compunction for a landlord to have an electrical inspection on a propery prior to letting it out.

Yep, quite sure.

Quite true, but I do believe there is never the less legal requirement on the landlord to ensure the electrical installation is "safe".

I have a friend who is an estate agent and manages lets, he instructs a "Visual Inspection" on all his properties (pays the electrician a fee of about 25% of a PIR). Now whilst I am aware this could be argued as a waste of time it does at least prevent visually dangerous situations prevailing e.g. exposed conductive parts, non rcd protected sockets, inadequate earthing/bonding arrangements etc. Any thoughts on the validity of this ?

 

[2scoops0406]

Oh, yes, it's certainly a good idea, and you're right a landlord most certainly has a duty of care towards his tenants. I'm just merely stating that you don't need to produce say a PIR prior to letting a propert out. Personally I don't think that is really good enough.

 

[dingbat]

I have a friend who is an estate agent and manages lets, he instructs a "Visual Inspection" on all his properties (pays the electrician a fee of about 25% of a PIR). Now whilst I am aware this could be argued as a waste of time it does at least prevent visually dangerous situations prevailing e.g. exposed conductive parts, non rcd protected sockets, inadequate earthing/bonding arrangements etc. Any thoughts on the validity of this ?

Yes.
It is generally considered that the great majority of the faults on an installation will be discovered during the inspection, which should always precede testing.
A visual-only does not involve dismantling of accessories but any suitably qualified and experienced electrician will form a general opinion of the state of an installation within a few minutes. The most obvious points to note are:
Earthing and bonding
The age of the installation
The condition and state of repair of the circuit protective devices.
General condition of accessories.

It often takes less than two minutes to determine that nothing less than a rewire would be adequate to ensure tenant safety... of course, every landlord/property manahement service I have ever carried out a PIR for wants it the day before tenants move in...

Given that profit always precedes safety in the home (tenated or owner-occupied) there is a greater business to be had in offering cheap, but nonetheless valid visual inspections compared to expensive PIRs, especially given that both are highly likely to be ignored.