You don't need to be an 'investor' to invest in Singletrack: 6 days left: 95% of target - Find out more
PPjnr looks like he is going to allow his girlfriend's Dad (not from uk and afaik has no certification to do electrical work here) to do some rewiring in his leasehold flat. What problems will he be setting himself up for?
I’m not a spark but, untested work, no certification when it comes to sell, liability if someone gets electrocuted, no insurance if say a fire is proved to non standard work.
Lots of people seem to do it but do you want to take the risk where the worse case could be a death.
Plus how will he know uk standards?
Fire, manslaughter, breaking the lease or non at all if all goes well.
no certification when it comes to sell
Most houses in the UK don't have any certification as they were built before the whole Part P nonsense came into existence. It's really not a big deal, I bought my house with nothing certified and didn't bother me or my solicitor in the slightest.
I would suggest to him that he gets it inspected afterwards. Basic electrical work is easy to do. Last rewire I did I got advice before hand and certification afterwards from a pro
Would depend on the father in law. Domestic wiring isn't difficult as long as you have an idea what you're doing and don't cut corners. Part P doesn't guarantee a quality installation as seen on many threads on here.
Leasehold might complicate things though.
Our next doors were selling their house. No certification of anything. Sellers were getting uppity so solicitor arranged an indemnity for £100. Everyone happy. Sellers backed out for other reasons. House sold to different buyers who never mentioned certification. That's 7 years ago and no one has been elctrocuted. It's the scaredey generation who believe everything will kill everyone who drive all this paranoia.
What percentage of houses sold today do you think had a recent electrical certificate?
What percentage of houses sold today do you think had a recent electrical certificate?
Not any I have ever bought that’s for sure.
I would be way more concerned about quality rather than certification.
Depends what he is intending to do. Alot of stuff doesn't need Part P. Stuff in bathrooms and kitchens is generally more restrictive, but if its just a bit of re-wiring, adding the odd socket or fused spur in here and there, or an additional light or two then the chances are no Part P certificate is required. Check what requires certification and what doesn't, the chances are what he's intending to do doesn't require certificaiton.
As for producing a certificate. What a nonsense. I'm not sure I could produce the certificate issued for our extension that was built 4 years ago. I've not knowingly thrown it out but I can't think where it is right now. And if your house was to burn down due to dodgy wiring then presumably the paper certificate certifying the dodgy job done by the dodgy but certified electrician was nothing more than fuel for the fire.
What problems will he be setting himself up for?
What does the lease allow? The structure is probably the freeholder's responsibility; does the freehold owner arrange for a regular inspection, in which case it could bite him before his 99 years are up
Otherwise it depends on the works, e.g replacing a light fitting or a switch, or something more involved? EDIT: I'm assuming that the work isn't covered by the service charge, if there is one?
If it goes badly wrong then N x number of flats = ??
Nice additional butty the kick backs for indemnity policies!
Legal and finance have an uncanny knack of helping each other cream money off.
Houses with bodged electrics are extremely common in the UK and have been bought and sold many times since electricity was first introduced. Rarely do you find a house that hasn't been messed with at some point by a DIY numpty. Surprisingly rare (given the frequency) for it to result in fire or electrocution. I've never come across it, even though I have seen some terrifying stuff that had potential! For example the old favourite and common bodge of using bell wire in circuits, with the insulation reduced to dust (disappears with the flick of a finger) because of the heat, leaving bare conductors exposed!
.... manslaughter .....
Can anyone produce any evidence of ANYONE ever being prosecuted in any way for this?
I bought a house last year, the home buyers report (also known as waste of £500 in our house hold) flagged the electrics as red due to not seeing a certificate. Because the house didnt burn down due to an electrical fire between the viewings and completion I was happy to proceed...
Conversely my last house has the sockets in the kitchen spurred off the cooker point. I've drilled though cables that were running diagonally across the wall and the vulcanised rubber insulation on some of the older wiring was crumbling away. Oh and the fusebox had been damaged by the fuses overheating.
I'd kind of liked to have known about those issues before I bought it! Oh yes, and the incoming mains fed into two ancient case iron mains fuse boxes that were both live on the case...
IME, a lot of "official" 'lecy jobs are sub standard because those jobs are under monetary and time pressures. If you are about making a profit, which all electricians are, then the quicker you can do a job, using the least number of parts the better........
Part P is a shower of shite but anyway it only allows for like for like replacements. light or light socket for socket. Adding any additional wiring should have a minor works certificate or new circuits should have a full certificate.
But it's not really enforceable by all and no one seems to give a shit is domestic installations, only if the shit hits the fan will it become a problem as the insurance company will ask for inspection details. It should be tested every 5 years or change of tenant or ownership