UK Landlord Trying to Deduct Deposit for Unnecessary Electrician Test.

[Wingo123]

Hi everyone,

I recently moved out of my rented property, and as expected, my landlord is attempting to withhold a significant portion of my deposit. One of the charges she's insisting on is £300 for an electrician to conduct an EICR test.

Here's the situation: I'm a qualified electrician, and during my tenancy, I simply swapped the upstairs bedroom light with the living room light. I didn't tamper with any wiring; I only changed an accessory. My understanding is that no certificate is required for this kind of minor change, as there were no alterations to the wiring.

I've tried explaining this to my landlord, but she's adamant about the charge. Now, I've escalated the issue and filed a dispute with TDS (Tenancy Deposit Scheme). However, I'm hoping to get some additional confirmation and possibly a reference to the regulations that support my stance.

Can anyone confirm if I'm correct in my understanding? And perhaps provide a specific part of the regulations that backs up my argument?

Thank you in advance for any advice or insights you can offer!

 

[davesparks]

Did you get permission in writing to swap the lights over before you did it?

Is the EICR being carried out because you moved the lights or is it being carried out because it is due anyway?

 

[Wingo123]

Did you get permission in writing to swap the lights over before you did it?

Is the EICR being carried out because you moved the lights or is it being carried out because it is due anyway?

No, I didn't get permission. I didn't think it was needed at the time and they are trying to charge me for a EICR as I swapped the light fitting. I didn't move the location of the lights, I only changed the fitting it's self.

 

[davesparks]

Your tenancy agreement will include a clause stating that you are not allowed to make such an alteration without the landlords permission.

However I don't think it is reasonable to expect you to pay for an EICR in response to this, they could probably reasonably deduct the cost of having the lights put back to where they were at the start of the tenancy.

You will have to take this to the TDS and let them decide, if you are not happy with their decision follow the correct procedure after that.
Stay calm and deal with it reasonably, don't let yourself get wound up and say or do something regrettable, communicate only in writing and keep copies of everything.


In the future when moving in to a rented property take detailed pictures of every part of the property so that when you leave you can return it exactly as it was at the start of the tenancy.

No matter how nice or reasonable a landlord may appear to be don't take any chances, do everything you can to protect yourself.

 

[buzzlightyear]

One of the charges she's insisting on is £300 for an electrician to conduct an EICR test.

has their been any EICR done before you moved in or was any done at all.

 

[Wingo123]

has their been any EICR done before you moved in or was any done at all.

There was one done in 2020, so 4 years ago

 

[davesparks]

There was one done in 2020, so 4 years ago

So the mandatory 5 yearly EICR for a rented property is not yet due. So they are claiming this purely as a means of checking that the unauthorised work you did is compliant. This is over the top of it is just the moving of 2 light fittings that needs to be checked.

I also suspect they have seen this as an opportunity to get their next EICR done ahead of time and paid for by someone else.

 

[Wingo123]

So the mandatory 5 yearly EICR for a rented property is not yet due. So they are claiming this purely as a means of checking that the unauthorised work you did is compliant. This is over the top of it is just the moving of 2 light fittings that needs to be checked.

I also suspect they have seen this as an opportunity to get their next EICR done ahead of time and paid for by someone else.

Yes, they are trying to charge me £300+ for a new EICR as I swapped over 2 lights. I agree with you. It seems like they are trying to get the money to get it done now instead of having to pay themselves next year.

 

[littlespark]

If you are an electrician, can you produce a test certificate just to cover the circuits you worked on? Even if it was just changing accessories?

An EICR can also be limited to specific circuits, doesn’t have to be all of them.

 

[buzzlightyear]

Yes, they are trying to charge me £300+ for a new EICR as I swapped over 2 lights. I agree with you. It seems like they are trying to get the money to get it done now instead of having to pay themselves next year

get a mate to give you a minor .
that £300.00 scam does not warrant that to be done .
start nit picking on the electrics and see what they say then .
hammer time .ooops thats a crack in that ooops thats falling down .

 

[Rockingit]

So the mandatory 5 yearly EICR for a rented property is not yet due. So they are claiming this purely as a means of checking that the unauthorised work you did is compliant. This is over the top of it is just the moving of 2 light fittings that needs to be checked.

I also suspect they have seen this as an opportunity to get their next EICR done ahead of time and paid for by someone else.

I thought it was also between change of tenancy? Always used to be in BS7671.

My first thoughts are 1) How did they even notice anyway, 2) They’re just trying to scam the EICR that’s due anyway (see above) and 3) The easiest route through the deadlock will be to say “fine, get the inspection done, and if it flags anything directly to do with those two pendants (or whatever) then you’ll arrange to get those issues and those issues only corrected.”

 

[Wingo123]

I thought it was also between change of tenancy? Always used to be in BS7671.

My first thoughts are 1) How did they even notice anyway, 2) They’re just trying to scam the EICR that’s due anyway (see above) and 3) The easiest route through the deadlock will be to say “fine, get the inspection done, and if it flags anything directly to do with those two pendants (or whatever) then you’ll arrange to get those issues and those issues only corrected.”

I'm not gonna do that. That means I have to pay £300 for them to do the inspection lol

 

[Rockingit]

I'm not gonna do that. That means I have to pay £300 for them to do the inspection lol

That’s not what I said. I said throw the gauntlet and say that if it flags an issue then you’ll resolve that issue - not that you’ll pay for an inspection.

 

[Wingo123]

That’s not what I said. I said throw the gauntlet and say that if it flags an issue then you’ll resolve that issue - not that you’ll pay for an inspection.

Okay, sorry. I tried that, and they didn't accept it. They said "it's part of regulation to have a EICR certificate."

 

[DPG]

I thought it was also between change of tenancy? Always used to be in BS7671.

My first thoughts are 1) How did they even notice anyway, 2) They’re just trying to scam the EICR that’s due anyway (see above) and 3) The easiest route through the deadlock will be to say “fine, get the inspection done, and if it flags anything directly to do with those two pendants (or whatever) then you’ll arrange to get those issues and those issues only corrected.”

It's not change of tenancy. Would be almost impossible with short term 6 month tenancy agreements anyway.

 

[James]

I Think I would be tempted to offer a payment towards the EICR.
if it is a 12 way board and you have changed fittings on 2 circuits (upstairs and downstairs lights)
2/12th of the circuits have been interfered with so therefore £300 / 6 =£50
and seen as the 2 circuits probably serve 10 light fittings then i think that breakdown of the costs is more than generous.

or as above, supply a minor works cert for the work you did. ( i assume you did some testing and recorded the results on a piece of paper you keep with the original EICR)

 

[DPG]

Never good when a tenant starts swapping things without permission.

 

[Pauls0212]

The landlord is probably wondering what else you have done and not told them!! They have to be safe.

 

[Rockingit]

It's not change of tenancy. Would be almost impossible with short term 6 month tenancy agreements anyway.

I'm going to take you to task on that.... It's change of occupancy.

GN3 Table 3.2 (pg115) refers. Domestic accomodation is a maximum of ten years or at change of tenancy. Rented accomodation then has an additional requirement of maximum five years between I&T with a routine check yearly. This is reinforced by commentary on page 117 "..Landlords are required by law to ensure that the electrical installation in a rented property is safe when tenants move in..." And the reason for this is very simple - it's to prevent this very scenario where it's implausible to think that a rented property that may have seen a dozen tenants through it in five years hasn't been interfered with over the course of that time, so an EICR issued four years ago may not resemble the installation four years and five tenants later and therefore cannot be relied upon.

All the 2020 Act did was make into statutory law what was already contained within BS7671 for years.

 

[Julie.]

Hi everyone,

I recently moved out of my rented property, and as expected, my landlord is attempting to withhold a significant portion of my deposit. One of the charges she's insisting on is £300 for an electrician to conduct an EICR test.

Here's the situation: I'm a qualified electrician, and during my tenancy, I simply swapped the upstairs bedroom light with the living room light. I didn't tamper with any wiring; I only changed an accessory. My understanding is that no certificate is required for this kind of minor change, as there were no alterations to the wiring.

I've tried explaining this to my landlord, but she's adamant about the charge. Now, I've escalated the issue and filed a dispute with TDS (Tenancy Deposit Scheme). However, I'm hoping to get some additional confirmation and possibly a reference to the regulations that support my stance.

Can anyone confirm if I'm correct in my understanding? And perhaps provide a specific part of the regulations that backs up my argument?

Thank you in advance for any advice or insights you can offer!

You don't say where you are, but in England, there has to be an EICR done at least every 5 years, and you as the tenant must be supplied with the report within 28 days of the test, and to any new tenant prior to the tenancy.

This is under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 - SI 312(2020).

There is no legal requirement to have an EICR completed upon a change of tenancy/occupation, but there are some recommendations to do so.

However the landlord has a responsibility to ensure that the electrical installation remains in compliance with the standards throughout, if you have carried out modifications, then it would be reasonable for the landlord to be concerned that they may not be to standard, (yet it is their responsibility to ensure that it is).

Looking at it from the landlord's pov - a tenant has modified the electrical installation without permission, the landlord has no idea what has been done - perhaps much more than they have spotted themselves, nor to what standard these modifications have been done! Yet it's the landlord's head on the block!

If I were the landlord, I would be looking to get it checked over - and pass the cost to the tenants who carried out the unauthorised modifications.

I (as a landlord) might automatically get a new EICR upon a change of tenancy as a matter of course - just so I am not exposed in case something has been done - in which case, that's just part of business and wouldn't look for additional costs from the tenant.

I understand it from your pov as well, you know what you have done is very limited, and being saddled with the costs appears unfair, but unfortunately as you didn't get the modifications approved, nor get (or issue) a minor works certificate; it pretty much leaves you open. Had there been prior approval or evidence of the work being done to standard - you might have a fair argument.

I think your best argument is that basically the landlord has to get a 5 year EICR done one year early, so perhaps 1/5 of a contribution of the cost, - £60 - that would sit well at arbitration.