Rented house dodgy wiring help

[epalmer82]

I'm renting a nice house in Bristol with a couple of friends but since moving in we've noticed a few things that don't seem correct, I've listed them below:

1. Our bathroom extractor fan is on 24/7. We've been told this is due to 'black mould' and that the fan has a built in humidity sensor but there are no controls on the face of the fan to indicate a sensor, it's just plain. There definitely isn't a switch for the fan and we're worried it could have been wired in directly. I plan on removing the fan tomorrow and looking for signs of a sensor at the back of the unit or a model number so I can google it. I don't expect to find a sensor, given our other experiences I strongly suspect this has been wired directly in to the houses electrics with no means to turn it off.
2. In built in cupboard there's a wire that runs the height of the floor with a switch in the middle, the kind of switch with its own light to indicate if it's on or off, we've been told this is for the light in the loft. The issue is the wiring nor the switch are secured to the wall, the just hang loose at the side.
3. In another cupboard there's another unsecured wire the runs horizontally unsecured across the space.

We've been told by our landlord that all is fine, he's brushed off requests for certificates to prove safe installation so I was wondering if any of the above is illegal or breaks any well known electrical standards.

The house isn't a student dump, we're all working processionals near 30, our concerns are that we won't be covered if there's a fire due to bodged wiring and we're also all quite keen not to experience a house fire.

Any advice or electrical safety standards we can chuck back at our landlord so he has to take notice would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Ed

 

[Sparky2520]

1- The fan may have a humidity sensor fitted or it may have the facility on it that makes it a trickle fan also... which would make it run all the time, BUT the fan must have local isolation for repair or maintanance, this is done with a fan isolator located just outside the bathroom.

2&3- both should have mechanical protection eg be enclosed in conduit/ trunking which has to be secured to a wall/ ceiling.

 

[epalmer82]

There's no isolator that I can see, I assume this'd just be a normal switch. The fan looks like a plain fan the only marking on it is where someone has written 12v. If I remove the fan after turning off the electrics will it be easy to work out if there's a humidity sensor or if it's a trickle fan?

The news about the other wiring is as suspected, I can't believe they think we'll just swallow the fact that the wiring is ok to hang loose.

Thank you for the response.

 

[Sparky2520]

a fan isolator switch looks like this....

http://www.screwfix.com/prods/65840...rical Supplies-_-Volex 6A Fan Isolator Switch

Depending on the make but they generaly look the same.

As for what you should be looking for in the fan im not 100% sure as iv not fitted one...... does the fan run at the same speed all the time or does it reduce in speed and also get alot quiter when the light is off? if that is the case it is a trickle fan....... if it stays at the same speed then it may have a humidity sensor in it but im not 100% on those.

 

[epalmer82]

There's definitely no isolator switch and the fan is always at constant speed. It's sounding more and more like a bodge job to me!

I'll look for an elusive humidity sensor on the back or in the body of the fan tomorrow, not holding my breath though.

You've been a big help, many thanks

 

[ajrobb]

I think a Periodic Inspection Report would be useful. Various recommendations are

• every 10 years of continuous occupancy
  every time occupants change after 2 years
  every 2 years with occupants changing

The landlord should expect to pay for the testing. Unfortunately, I don't think there is any legal requirement. If you get your own done then maybe you can demand that dangerous wiring is rectified by the landlord. A clean PIR should satisfy insurance companies.

 

[baldelectrician]

Try looking here for landlord electrial requirements

England & Wales Guidance


Scotland Guidance

Hope this helps

 

[RF Lighting]

Sounds like a typical tennant.

Probably all perfectly safe, but tennant knows best.

It might not be to the best standard and it might not be quite right but it's not dangerous, and thats all your landlord will care about.

 

[DIYDANDY]

Sounds like a typical tennant.

Probably all perfectly safe, but tennant knows best.

It might not be to the best standard and it might not be quite right but it's not dangerous, and thats all your landlord will care about.

You a landlord RF?

 

[JohnD]

the landlord has probably suffered the cost of rectifying damp and mould caused by a damp bathroom before. Many people have an aversion to ventilation, and refuse to turn fans on or open windows. Often these are the same people who then complain of damp and mould.

Maybe the bathroom contantly has enough humidity to trip the sensor, or maybe it has just been fixed to run permanently. The cost of electricity for a fan is negligible.

As for the unsecured cable, if it was me I would invest 25p in some cable clips. It would take up less of my time than grumbling about it. If you consider yourself competent to disconnect an electric fan and dismantle it you must also be able to screw a switch to the wall.

I am not a landlord, just a householder.

 

[RF Lighting]

Sounds like a typical tennant.

Probably all perfectly safe, but tennant knows best.

It might not be to the best standard and it might not be quite right but it's not dangerous, and thats all your landlord will care about.

You a landlord RF?

No.

I used to do a lot of work for various letting agents, who would get calls all the time from tennants complaining about unsafe installs in their houses.

Nearly always nothing wrong.

 

[skenk]

To be fair, switches hanging off the wall and exposed unsupported wiring doesn't sound too great.

WRT to the fan, the timer/switch was probably bypassed due to the landlord having to cough up on a regular basis to have the bath seal re-done and ceiling/walls painted due to mould. (Of course if they'd cleaned up properly first, used decent silicone and proper damps seal paint then the mould wouldn't come back so quickly . . .)

If this was Scotland you would have to lobby the landlord via the Repairing Standard rules if you were unhappy, as it's England i'm not sure but you should be looking up what your rights are if something included with the flat is not maintained as it should be. This will be generally, not specific to electrics (although it will probably be mentioned). You will probably have to send lots of letters to your landlord, give them time to reply etc. before you can do anything about it. Also you will have to pay your rent in the meantime.

A quicker method depending on your landlord may be to withhold rent until the landlord sends his goon round to put a timer fan/switch in and clip the cables to the wall. (withhold rent at yr own risk!)

 

[JohnD]

his goon

you mean RF?

 

[RF Lighting]

8)

 

[skenk]

I doubt RF would work for the kind of money paid to yr typical landlord goon to lash up and bodge everything from bathroom suites to wallpaper. Nor, I expect would he want to work for an employer who thinks any price is too much but complains when their s***e installs go wrong.

If a rented flat (HMO excepted) here has bonding (any size to either service) and MCB's it's much more up to date than the vast majority which are still on '3036's and have been lovingly cared for (altered and added to) by aforementioned goons for many years. Or, if you're lucky, an 'electrician'* will have bunged in a 6-way main switch only board with no bonding so the landlord can claim it's bang up to date and think I should be on rogue traders for suggesting that to do it properly is going to cost £350




*goon with side-cutters