Wiring in a 71 year old house.

[Kevin51]

What is the likely status of a house built in 1954. It has the modern 3 pin sockets and the original fuse box. What would be the life span of the cable installed in 1954 and is a rewiring likely. Just a very ball park figure what is the likely cost rewire a 3 bed semi and add a modern consumer unit. I am a DIYer and not planning to do this work.

 

[littlespark]

Looking at £6-7k all in. Maybe more if there’s lots of wall chasing, decorative accessories etc

Cable condition at that age could be ok, but the early pvc cable used plasticisers that seeped green goo after so long. This breaks down the insulation, so would need replaced

Another issue may be lack of cpc in the lighting circuits.

And finally, the number of power sockets may not be adequate for modern living

 

[brianmoooore]

If it is original wiring, and is plastic rather than rubber insulated, the plastic is likely to be polyethylene rather than pvc, and will likely be in poor condition, especially where the outer cable sheath has been removed.
The 'green goo' problem with PVC didn't affect early cables insulated with it, but only those produced for a period in the 70s - 80s.

 

[Kevin51]

Looking at £6-7k all in. Maybe more if there’s lots of wall chasing, decorative accessories etc

Cable condition at that age could be ok, but the early pvc cable used plasticisers that seeped green goo after so long. This breaks down the insulation, so would need replaced

Another issue may be lack of cpc in the lighting circuits.

And finally, the number of power sockets may not be adequate for modern living

CPC in the lighting cicuits? The reason that I am asking is there is a legal issue. The house was left to two of my brothers and my sister. One of the brothers who resided in the house when our mother died is on of the the three that inherits and he can live in the house for as long as he chooses thus preventing the sale of the house. There was no provision in the will as to who pays for maintenance or re-work such a wiring or a new roof. Nothing in the will about who insures the house. A few years yet but what will happen when gas is turned off, heat pump, who is paying.
Just alerting my other brother and sister that they need some sort of legal document drawn up detailing who pays for what before their names go on the deeds or they may be getting some expensive bills and never benefit from the sale of the house in their life time.

 

[littlespark]

Cpc means “circuit protective conductor” otherwise known as the earth wire.


Yes, sounds like a bit of a pickle, but that’s what solicitors are for. Paying their bill now will save a lot of hassle further down the line.

 

[7029 dave]

With an installation of that age the lighting circuits may not be earthed. I would advice you get an Electrical installation condition report done.

 

[James]

If the property is owned by 3 people but occupied by 1 of the three.
there are several things worth considering.

1. is the person residing in the house paying rent to the other 2 owners?
if they are not, then I would expect the general upkeep to be covered by the occupier.

if they are paying rent at the expected rate for the property (less 1/3 that they are paying themselves) then the expenses for maintaining it should be split between the 3 in equal terms.

This is one of those occasions that would benefit from all party's getting round a table and deciding what is fair and reasonable, when they have done that, get it drafted by a local solicitor so all party's know where they stand.

if they cant manage to do that then solicitors will need to become involved anyway and the bills will be much higher.

 

[Simon47]

If the property is owned by 3 people but occupied by 1 of the three.
there are several things worth considering.

And another couple of thing probably not thought about :

• For the non-residents, they won't get any primary residence relief so could get a surprise when the house is sold. The capital gains tax (CGT) threshhold is now only £3k - plus it's easy to be pushed into a higher tax bracket for the year which for some can mean complications with benefits or other allowances. As it stands, CGT amounts to a tax on inflation.
• They are now property owners, so if they didn't already own their home will get hit with the punitive extra Stamp Duty (or equivalent in Wales or Scotland) when they do come to buy.
• Their ownership of this property could be taken into account if (for example) they need to claim benefits. It could nake them ineligible for support.

1. is the person residing in the house paying rent to the other 2 owners?
if they are not, then I would expect the general upkeep to be covered by the occupier.

Agreed.
What I've seen happen in these cases is the resident subling buying out the others. In this case, they already own a 1/3 share, so need to borrow up to 66% LTV which is below the level where rates go up for those with small deposits.
Of course, we don't know if they could afford the repayments.
If they can't afford mortgage payments, then presumably they could pay rent either - in which case the other sibling might be able to force a sale if they aren't happy subsidising. It quickly starts getting awkward - and really whoever drew up the will should have advised that this sort of thing be sorted out up-front.

This is one of those occasions that would benefit from all party's getting round a table and deciding what is fair and reasonable, when they have done that, get it drafted by a local solicitor so all party's know where they stand.

if they cant manage to do that then solicitors will need to become involved anyway and the bills will be much higher.

100%
The longer it's left the harder to sort.

 

[TimJ01]

What is the likely status of a house built in 1954. It has the modern 3 pin sockets and the original fuse box. What would be the life span of the cable installed in 1954 and is a rewiring likely. Just a very ball park figure what is the likely cost rewire a 3 bed semi and add a modern consumer unit. I am a DIYer and not planning to do this work.

Thats going to be a bit of money. Maybe somewhere between 5- 9k. I had my house rewired recently and I was happy with the work. Would you like me to recommend him as it cost me £4,500.