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Switch off or else!

whjohnson
Here's a good 'un.

Been working on a property which has gone from long term tenancy to holiday let. The owner asked me to make sure that I turned off the electricity at the mains when leaving the building vacant. It is currently undergoing refurb. However, when I asked why, it turned out that the company the holiday let will be insured through has made it a condition of granting the policy that the electricity must be turned off each time a letting period comes to an end. I thought this rather odd, since it means that apart from doing a clean around and laundry change, the property owner will have to go around resetting the boiler timer, the TV, the electric oven clock etc etc every time there is a changeover!

It somewhat makes a mockery of the insistence upon having regular I&T because where is the risk if the whole installation is denergised for long periods of time?

.

Has anyone else come across nonsense like this?
Parents
  • 0
    But how long are backup batteries supposed to last?

    What about mains smokes and heat alarms and security alarms?

    I have just emailed the owner thus -


    "You say that a condition of the granting of the policy was that the electricity supply must be turned off between lets/whilst the property is vacant.


    Has it not occurred to the insurance company that if this practice is pursued through the winter months in compliance with their T's & C's, that they would leave themselves wide open to the prospect of a claim for flood damage due to frozen pipes within the building, simply because the electricity which would have powered the boiler and it's associated thermostat had been left turned off?


    Similarly -  we get to security. What if you had a intruder alarm installed, which relied upon an electrical supply to function and to keep it's backup batteries charged. If someone broke in, would the company pay out for the loss when their own terms and conditions effectively disabled your security measures? And what about mains powered smoke/heat alarms? What happens then?


    I have no idea where you found this insurance company, but having just posted the above scenario on the Wiring Regulations section of the Institute of Engineering Technology forum, I await further input with great interest.


    Meanwhile, it might pay you to ask a few awkward questions of your holiday let insurer, since I have never heard of any insistence of the electrical supply being isolated between lets. Rather, in the event of any claims arising, they would insist that the electrical supply be maintained rather than being disconnected, and in the event of failure, would immediately refer you to the electrical supplier's compensation schemes for supply failure rather than creating a situation via their own ts & cs which could give rise to a claim against themselves."
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  • 0
    But how long are backup batteries supposed to last?

    What about mains smokes and heat alarms and security alarms?

    I have just emailed the owner thus -


    "You say that a condition of the granting of the policy was that the electricity supply must be turned off between lets/whilst the property is vacant.


    Has it not occurred to the insurance company that if this practice is pursued through the winter months in compliance with their T's & C's, that they would leave themselves wide open to the prospect of a claim for flood damage due to frozen pipes within the building, simply because the electricity which would have powered the boiler and it's associated thermostat had been left turned off?


    Similarly -  we get to security. What if you had a intruder alarm installed, which relied upon an electrical supply to function and to keep it's backup batteries charged. If someone broke in, would the company pay out for the loss when their own terms and conditions effectively disabled your security measures? And what about mains powered smoke/heat alarms? What happens then?


    I have no idea where you found this insurance company, but having just posted the above scenario on the Wiring Regulations section of the Institute of Engineering Technology forum, I await further input with great interest.


    Meanwhile, it might pay you to ask a few awkward questions of your holiday let insurer, since I have never heard of any insistence of the electrical supply being isolated between lets. Rather, in the event of any claims arising, they would insist that the electrical supply be maintained rather than being disconnected, and in the event of failure, would immediately refer you to the electrical supplier's compensation schemes for supply failure rather than creating a situation via their own ts & cs which could give rise to a claim against themselves."
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