Fuse box next door

[oscar21]

What are peoples opinion's on this, pair of big old semi-detached houses (85 and 87) converted into apartments, dont think its a HMO although it does have a communal laundry room. They are owned by a local authority.

I was doing some work in the laundry room in the basement in building 87 and couldn't find the communal consumer unit anywhere. The meter cupboard had a 3 phase supply, 6 meters and 6 isolators/submains, one for each flat. The building was having some remedial work done to it owing to a flood so there was a myriad of hi-viz busy body council types knocking about all day and eventually after talking to one who knew the building it turns out that the communal CU was next door in 85 serving both buildings, as was the fire alarm panel.

What's peoples take on this as I have to do a cert on the stuff we've done, I know why they've done it like this, its to save on an extra bill/standing charge on an additional landlords supply but surely you shouldn't have to go next door to re-set an RCD. Especially as I had to go through chineese whispers just to find out where the key safe was, what the number was and who actually had the keys that should be in the safe in the first place.

 

[pc1966]

I would think that if they are apartments, and not something like uni halls with private bedroom and communal facilities, then each one would be classed as an installation so it should have an accessible means of isolation.

Unless every owner has a key for the room and knows about it that is hardly the case!

I don't know enough about building regs either to answer it, but really I would expect each apartment to have its own CU and at most the billing meters and sub-main isolation switch/fuses would be in the shared area.