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Preparing a flat for renting

Harry Macdonald
Hi all,

I would be very grateful for some advice. 

My daughter is having her Edinburgh 1st floor flat prepared for renting and it needs some work highlighted by an electrical safety report. Some things have been noted as requiring remedial work that seem odd to me:
  • Two sockets are noted as being wired in Aluminium Twin & Earth cable. Is this likely? It looks to me like stranded copper.  Would it need replacing even if it is as this would be a pig of a job as the wiring is under a laminate floor.

  • The electrician has quoted for adding rubber grommets to all socket back boxes. I know that this is good practice but is it necessary before a property can be rented.?

  • The gas meter is plastic with metal pipes in and out. It is in the ground at the front of the house. Immediately through the wall is the termination point for the DNO supply with a big earth terminal with the rising (copper) gas pipe a few inches away. The Electrician says that the incoming gas supply must be bonded to the Flat main earth point, i.e. up the stairs and across a doorway and not the the building main earth point. Is he correct?


I have a photo but I can't work out how to upload it. It says drag but that doesn't seem to work.
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    wallywombat:
    Harry Macdonald:

    Thanks Wallywombat. The problem with this is that there is no good route for a new cable from the DNO incomer, at the front at ground level, to the CU, in the middle of the building at first floor level.

    As I understand your proposal, a new cable would need to run between these points and the existing cable armour cannot be used, even though it is clearly adequate other wise the whole installation is not earthed.

    The electrician is proposing running a 10mmsq up the skirting board along side the stairs and over a couple of doorways.


    Your description has completely lost me I'm afraid. Your original question seemed to be whether you could terminate the bonding at the cut out rather than at the CU, and I was answering with a qualified "yes"




    Me too!


    I wouldn't want the bonding on show, but it can always be painted over. ? If this flat is for rental, I don't think that it matters; I don't think that it will put off any prospective tenants.


  • 0
    Thanks guys,

    Supplementary questions. The company has agreed that it is tinned copper cable but now says that it must be so old that it will need replacing anyway. Has anyone had problems with early PVC PVC cables that are not obviously damaged or showing low IR?

    Also, how does an EICR turn into a Safety Certificate in the context of rental (in Scotland). Are things like no earths at plastic ceiling rose with pendant (plastic) lamp holders a reason to say a property is not fit for rental?
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    If its IR tested fine then its perfectly serviceable. Sounds like they are trying to tap you up for some unnecessary work to me. Bit like how they suggested it was Aluminium in the first place
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    imperial stranded T&E is slightly problematic in that the cpc is a bit undersized (while the live conductors are oversized):

    imperial "2.5mm²" T&E has 0.029" diameter strands: 7 for live, 3 for cpc, which works out at 2.99mm² and 1.28mm².


    Others on the forum may be able to tell you better whether a 1.28mm² cpc technically satisfies the adibatic equation, but in practice we seem to have gotten away with it for decades. If the endpoints are ok (e.g. no strands snapped off) then it should be ok for now. By all means mark it up for future replacement, but it shouldn't be a failure now.
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    Harry Macdonald:

    Thanks guys,

    Supplementary questions. The company has agreed that it is tinned copper cable but now says that it must be so old that it will need replacing anyway. Has anyone had problems with early PVC PVC cables that are not obviously damaged or showing low IR?

     


    Not true, if it tested okay it is okay.


  • 0
    Harry Macdonald:


    Are things like no earths at plastic ceiling rose with pendant (plastic) lamp holders a reason to say a property is not fit for rental?


    Now you have opened a can of worms, the straight answer is probably not fit for rental. It comes down to supervision of the installation to ensure plastic fittings are not replaced with metal fittings that require an earth connection for safety. The regs can be interpreted as it's okay in an owner occupier home, but not in a tenanted home.


    I have just sat through the Aico core training webinar and there is a similar issue with having replaceable batteries in heat and smoke alarms, okay for owner occupiers, but not in tenanted homes.


    Andy Betteridge.


  • 0
    Harry Macdonald:

    Also, how does an EICR turn into a Safety Certificate in the context of rental (in Scotland). Are things like no earths at plastic ceiling rose with pendant (plastic) lamp holders a reason to say a property is not fit for rental?


    Depends whether you give it a C2 or a C3!


  • 0
    Thanks Andy, but changing the light fittings should be forbidden by the tenancy agreement anyway!


    Chris - exactly. Is there any definitive ruling on this sort of decision?

  • 0
    Harry- I sent you a message through the form.
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