Rules and Guidelines
Want to participate in the discussions? Please read our Community Rules and Guidelines. Need some help? Visit Support and Answers.

  • State Not Answered
  • Locked Locked
  • Replies 46 replies
  • Subscribers 33 subscribers
  • Views 7434 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
You may also be interested in
This discussion has been locked.
You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

£30k fine for landlords who do not provide a valid EICR for their rental properties

Legh Richardson
Is this actually true or is it some estate agent cashing in on lost income?

The reason why I ask, what appears to be a daft question, is that a friend has just received notification from the estate agent who sold the property 15 years ago that their property, which is now being rented, must be inspected and tested for compliance to 18th ed. Not that I was unaware of this requirement!

I just thought the £30k punishment for disobedience was a little steep. Or maybe  'bribery and corruption' or  'threatening behaviour' was the new Inspection and testing idiom.?

Legh
  • 0
    Zoomup:

    How can you say it's unsafe if the inspection and test has not been fully  completed? Surely in this case an F.I. is the lazy way out.



    You can't, but neither can you say it's safe - there are three possible states - "safe", "unsafe" and "unknown". Only "safe" allows the condition to be declared as "satisfactory".

  • 0
    You do what you are getting paid for, if there’s a cable going out and you don’t know where it goes and what, if anything, it does you need to disconnect it or the installation is unsatisfactory. It could be a bare ended cable in the loft or under the floor that could kill a plumber or someone else, as has happened locally.


    Agreeing to do an EICR is not an open ended agreement to sort out all the issues you find, you report the issues and then they need to be dealt with as a chargeable extra or another contractor needs to come in and sort it out, including the issue of not knowing what the problem is, if there in one.


    So you report an issue such as a break in a ring circuit or failed insulation, but you do not do the fault finding and rectify the issue.
  • 0
    Does F.I. really mean that an electrical danger is present?

    I think the original wording was something like F.I. where the result of the investigation could result in a C1 or C2.

        - Andy.
  • 0
    Sparkingchip:

    For example.


    You cannot have a circuit marked as “unknown” on a satisfactory EICR, because that’s coded FI and requires further investigation.


    If you don’t know where a circuit cable goes or what it supplies there is a choice between disconnecting and safely isolating it or declaring the installation unsatisfactory. How can you say it’s safe?


    How can you say it's unsafe if the inspection and test has not been fully  completed? Surely in this case an F.I. is the lazy way out.


    Z.


  • 0
    For example.


    You cannot have a circuit marked as “unknown” on a satisfactory EICR, because that’s coded FI and requires further investigation.


    If you don’t know where a circuit cable goes or what it supplies there is a choice between disconnecting and safely isolating it or declaring the installation unsatisfactory. How can you say it’s safe?
  • 0
    Zoomup:

    Does F.I. really mean that an electrical danger is present?


    Z.




    No, but it does mean you don't yet know whether there is anything dangerous. And the whole point of a landlord's T&I is to become reasonably confident that the installation is safe.


  • 0
    Sparkingchip:
    Zoomup:
    Sparkingchip:
    An article by Charlotte Lee.


     


    She says:


    "An Unsatisfactory EICR is one which has Observation Codes C1, C2 and/or Further Investigation (FI), which indicate an electrical danger is present, or further work is needed to ascertain whether a danger is present."


    Z.







    So?




    Does F.I. really mean that an electrical danger is present?


    Z.


  • 0
    mapj1:

    So even after the first warning letter,  the owner or whoever is not liable for prosecution ...


    I think that it is important to realise that it is not a criminal matter, so no prosecution.


    Instead R.11 permits a local authority to impose a financial penalty of up to £30k for breach of duties. The standard of proof is the same as for criminal cases - beyond reasonable doubt. (see above)


    If that happens, you may appeal to the First-tier Tribunal.


  • 0
    Zoomup:
    Sparkingchip:
    An article by Charlotte Lee.


     


    She says:


    "An Unsatisfactory EICR is one which has Observation Codes C1, C2 and/or Further Investigation (FI), which indicate an electrical danger is present, or further work is needed to ascertain whether a danger is present."


    Z.







    So?


  • 0
    Sparkingchip:
    An article by Charlotte Lee.


     


    She says:


    "An Unsatisfactory EICR is one which has Observation Codes C1, C2 and/or Further Investigation (FI), which indicate an electrical danger is present, or further work is needed to ascertain whether a danger is present."


    Z.


Community Rules & Guidelines