Who's responsible for the electrical safety of your let - Call Cardiff Electrical?

As a landlord did you know that you are liable for any short comings in the safety of your properties irrespective of whether a third party has issued a certificate for the gas or electric safety of the property?

 

In the past a landlord could simply waive a certificate at an investigating authority. However, now the landlord must ensure that any electrical certificate is valid, has been issued by an accredited person and is fit for purpose.

 

Some organisations will issue an electrical safety certificate on which a number of vital tests have been omitted. Look for the tell tale ‘LIM’ (Limitation) or ‘N/A’ (Not Applicable). Ask the electrician or inspector why LIM or N/A has been applied to certain circuits. Make sure that this isn’t the inspectors way of saving time on site as he hasn’t priced to do the full set of tests that should normally be done.

 

You could end up for paying for an cardiff plumbers certificate that has no value!

 

As a guideline a 2-bed, 2-reception, kitchen and bathroom with up to 6 circuits would take about 4 hours to inspect, test and document. A 4 bed, 3-reception, kitchen and bathroom with up to 8 circuits would take about 6 hours to inspect, test and document. This guidelines are assuming that there are no problems to isolate during tests.

 

I have included a link to a spreadsheet which shows the typical layout of a test schedule. A full electrical certificate usually a header sheet with client, installation/property details and details relating to the nature of supply and earthing. There follows a second sheet of inspections and finally a test schedule detailing the actual test outcomes on the circuits in the property.

 https://tradeforceuk485.blogspot.com/

I have identified the typical required tests for a socket ring circuit in yellow and the typical tests for a lighting circuit in orange. As can be seen there are nine tests to be recorded  for a sockets ring circuit and six for a lighting circuit.

 

Multiple Occupancy Lets and Fire Regulations

 

Were you aware that there is a greatly increased risk of fire in multiple occupancy lets than other forms of property let? Tenants in a multiple occupancy let are ten times more likely to die as a result of a fire than a homeowner.  As a result the Housing Act of 2004 included many changes to more closely regulate the letting of multiple occupancy properties.

 

One of the changes relates to the requirement for a minimum of a 230 Volt battery backup linked automatically operated smoke and heat alarms in two storey properties.

 

In three storey properties, the requirements are more onerous in requiring both automatically operating sensor, call points and a panel indicating the location of the alarm.

 

Beyond ensuring that a suitable system is installed, there are other requirements including a fire risk assessment, prevention strategies, building structure, fire doors, 30 minute partitions, emergency lighting, extinguishers.