Letting agents letter to block of flats landlords x 24electrics

[SPARTYKUS]

"Dear xxxxxxxxxx

As you will be aware, as a Landlord, you have a legal obligation to ensure that any rented property is safe for the tenant. If there is a gas supply to the property a gas safety test is carried out every year and a safety certificate issued.

The law also states that as a Landlord you must ensure the electrics are safe. The only way to ensure this is to carry out an electrical safety check and issue a safety certificate every five years.

Looking at your records, the electrical safety certificates on many of the properties we manage will become due in 2015. We intend on instructing an electrician to carry out a test and provide a certificate. We are staggering the tests over the year.

An average test with certificate is £128 plus VAT

If the electrics haven't previously been checked or upgraded some remedial work may be necessary. For instance if the current fuse board is a re- wireable fuse board this would need to be changed as it will be against current regulations, trip switches may need to be fitted to fuse boards and main earthing to gas and water services may need to be fitted.

If you would prefer to instruct the work yourself and use your own contractor please let us know your intentions and forward a copy of the certificate to us.

please note if you have carried out an electrical test and certificate within the last five years please send us a copy of the certificate so we can have a copy for our records and may diarise the next test accordingly."

any thoughts.......

 

[Octopus]

"Dear xxxxxxxxxx

The law also states that as a Landlord you must ensure the electrics are safe. The only way to ensure this is to carry out an electrical safety check and issue a safety certificate every five years.


An average test with certificate is £128 plus VAT


any thoughts.......

Which law is that?

 

[SPARTYKUS]

(Ps, I received this, I didn't compose it!!)

 

[Octopus]

(Ps, I received this, I didn't compose it!!)

I guessed that!

Can you write to them and ask about the electrical law?

"may diarise the next test accordingly" - what clap trap!

 

[ImpededLoop]

Which law is that?

Probably duty of care under health and safety.

Basically if the landlord gets taken to court due to an electrical problem, the prosecution will ask "what measures did you take to ensure the electrical installation was safe for continued use?".

 

[Engineer54]

I wonder what they mean by ''electrical safety check'' and ''electrical safety certificate'' One of those buckshee visual checks or a full EICR?? ..lol!!

I love the misinformation and the terminology used, though it doesn't instill much confidence if coming from a letting agents electrical contractor or whatever... lol!!

 

[telectrix]

"may diarise the next test accordingly.


2 immodium immediately, followed by 1 every 4 hours should cure that.

 

[HandySparks]

I don't see anything wrong with the general tenet of the letter. This comes from a letting agent, who's just doing their job in making landlords aware of their responsibilities.

The average price stated is low, unless all the properties are small flats.

 

[SPARTYKUS]

I don't see anything wrong with the general tenet of the letter. This comes from a letting agent, who's just doing their job in making landlords aware of their responsibilities.

The average price stated is low, unless all the properties are small flats.

...apart from the bit saying if you have a rewireable fuseboard it has to be changed because its against current regulations!!!

yes they are tiny one bedroomed flats. I'm going to drop a quote through as to be honest £153.60 is a bit steep, you could do a 100% test in half a day on your own. And the contractor quote states a "sample" will be done, irrespective of whether previous records are available, etc. the percentage conveniently left off....

also the flats are electric only. No gas on site, so all references to gas bonding, gas safety checks are a bit stretched.

Oh and its "certificate" all the way through not report ...grrrrrr

 

[HandySparks]

...apart from the bit saying if you have a rewireable fuseboard it has to be changed because its against current regulations!!!

Good point, I'd forgotten about that bit.

And yes, it's a bit flaky, but I approve of the general sentiment that rental properties should be inspected and tested at suitable intervals.

 

[SPARTYKUS]

Good point, I'd forgotten about that bit.

And yes, it's a bit flaky, but I approve of the general sentiment that rental properties should be inspected and tested at suitable intervals.

Yes, me too, agreed on that for sure.

 

[Octopus]

Good point, I'd forgotten about that bit.

And yes, it's a bit flaky, but I approve of the general sentiment that rental properties should be inspected and tested at suitable intervals.

The understatement of the day

 

[Tiny Spark]

So you doing the work yourself then?

 

[SPARTYKUS]

Could be.....

 

[trev]

A mate of mine got a similar letter from his agent up here, I was round there anyway so I rang them and asked them lots of questions. I told them they didn't have a clue what they were on about as 7671 is not statute law. I read them the riot act and told them they'd best reissue the letter with more appropriate wording.
He's still waiting but they haven't sent anyone to test the properties they handle for him

 

[spark 68]

Never mind, next year we will be getting letters saying that plastic CUs are illegal too lol

 

[polo1]

You might be interested in this......
[h=1]Introduction of mandatory electrical safety checks[/h]20 November 2014You may be aware the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 introduced a mandatory requirement for electrical testing in privately rented properties.


This will be implemented in due course through guidance from Scottish Ministers.

The Scottish Government are in the process of drafting guidance. In summary the proposal is: -

(1) Any new tenancy from 1 December 2015 must have an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)
(2) Any existing tenancy must have an EICR by 1 December 2016, so there will be a 1 year period to bring existing tenancies up to standard.
(3) An EICR which complies with BS7671 completed by a competent person since 1 January 2012 will be acceptable.
(4) An EICR completed on or after 1 December 2015 must have additional documents to show a record of appliances checked and any remedial work undertaken, but these additional documents won’t be required if the EICR was completed earlier.
(5) An ongoing duty to renew EICRs every 5 years.

SAL and the CLA are working closely with the Scottish Government as the guidance is being drafted, and have already been successful in ensuring that the proposed guidance allows for existing EICR certificates carried out before the legislation is implemented to remain valid.

We will keep members informed of any developments in relation to electrical safety checks and we will issue the finalised guidance to members as soon as it has been published.

 

[trev]

Doesn't say the report has to be satisfactory.
Yeeeeeehaaaaa

 

[SPARTYKUS]

You might be interested in this......
Introduction of mandatory electrical safety checks

20 November 2014You may be aware the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014 introduced a mandatory requirement for electrical testing in privately rented properties.


This will be implemented in due course through guidance from Scottish Ministers.

The Scottish Government are in the process of drafting guidance. In summary the proposal is: -

(1) Any new tenancy from 1 December 2015 must have an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)
(2) Any existing tenancy must have an EICR by 1 December 2016, so there will be a 1 year period to bring existing tenancies up to standard.
(3) An EICR which complies with BS7671 completed by a competent person since 1 January 2012 will be acceptable.
(4) An EICR completed on or after 1 December 2015 must have additional documents to show a record of appliances checked and any remedial work undertaken, but these additional documents won’t be required if the EICR was completed earlier.
(5) An ongoing duty to renew EICRs every 5 years.

SAL and the CLA are working closely with the Scottish Government as the guidance is being drafted, and have already been successful in ensuring that the proposed guidance allows for existing EICR certificates carried out before the legislation is implemented to remain valid.

We will keep members informed of any developments in relation to electrical safety checks and we will issue the finalised guidance to members as soon as it has been published.

I wonder when they'll realise its a good idea in England....

to para quote Oscar Wilde and a friend

Friend: " thats a great idea I wish I'd thought of that"

Oscar: "you will!"

" (or something like that)

 

[Octopus]

I wonder when they'll realise its a good idea in England....

Or would it just render EICR's completely worthless when they are done for peanuts?

 

[SPARTYKUS]

Already alot of that though, my best mate showed me one he got done (a way away), all chuffed as it was cheap,£60, it was just the front page of a PIR form, the bloke never set foot in the house.

Alot of people don't even understand the point of it, they just see it as a ball ache piece of paper like the gas check.

 

[Darkwood]

I believe similar steps are or have already been implemented in England, a duty of care has been the running theme regarding electrics as in the landlord must ensure they are safe, the problem is this does not stipulate an inspection has to be done but unless you as a landlord are an actual Electrician the only real way would be an inspection, because its worded as such a high proportion of landlords never bothered with any real inspections and just replaced visually broken equipment - I believe the aim is for a minimum standard for rented properties in that they provide personel protection -ie RCD covered circuits where necessary according to the current regulations so yes if BS3036 boards still exist then an upgrade is now going to be neccessary .... at the end of the day a landlord has a duty of care that the electrics are safe and give a level of protection to ensure injury or death is minimal risk - as it stands now any landlord taken to court over the death of a tenent from poor electrics is likely to face manslaughter charges, if he can present an inspection report and show he acted on the recommendations to give a higher level of safety required then he has bought him/herself a get out of jail card.

I work with many landlords and its now usually the insurance companies that are pushing for correct certification and personel protection of tenants but this is off the back of the either soon to be or already implemented regulations - I need to do some digging to find out whether these changes have actually been implemented yet or are about to be.

Here are the new guidelines that replace the previous - noting adequate RCD protection is clearly worded!

http://www.----------------------------/guides-and-advice/for-landlords/

Now although this is a charitable organisation the gov' is been pressured to accept these guidelines into statute law as its estimated a fifth of tenants have had issues or been hurt by poor electrical installs.

 

[Gavin A]

the requirement for testing every 5 years is only for HMO's (houses of multiple occupation / big student properties, bedsites and the lie).

 

[Robert Turnbull]

Its all covered under the duty of care as a landlord, which states (not word for word) That you are responsible for the safety of the electrics, and a ECIR is recommended every 5 years or change of tenant to prove this. Basically a landlord cant prove anythings safe without one, but sadly this wouldn't get proven till someone is hurt and the landlord is in court.

 

[richy3333]

(Ps, I received this, I didn't compose it!!)

Naturally, you only do crayons