Need Advice: Landlord Trying to Deduct Deposit for Unnecessary Electrician Test.

Good lord a lot of keyboard warriors on tonight, I am telling my experience of what I have had. I have had a fair few work this way too. What is odd is if someone has a different experience how is their experience of it the right one and more relevant than anyone elses. Jeesh makes you not want to add anything to a thread !!!!!!

 

Just because others have said, doesnt make it correct. I would also want everything checked if someone has messed about with the lighting and not mentioned it as well. So there is another opinion for you.

 

Most landlords require the tenant to ask for permission before making material changes, and this will include the electrics. Now if something as obvious as swapping two light fittings has happened, there may be reasonable doubt about what else has been done that is not obvious. I can see every reason to get an EICR done at the tenant’s expense before returning some or all of the deposit.

 

Was the first question I asked, did you have permission. OP has been back but seems no answer.

 

She has already provided an EICR which presumably was satisfactory, now she finds out her tenant has swapped over two lights completely off his own back, so what happens now if this work has put her satisfactory report as unsatisfactory, is she expected to pay someone to repair each time a tenant comes in and messes up the wiring, perhaps if you had asked for permission to alter anything first, she would have more than likely wanted a minor works certificate with it. Not being funny here but I can understand her point and actually agree with her. I cannot see how anyone thinks this is ok, I think this would have been a bit obvious.

 

Should have asked permission to tamper with light fittings, and/or should have switched them back.

The fact the landlady conveniently gets a shiny new EICR for that small tampering is luck gifted by lack of thought, she doesn't know what else he's been fiddling with.

 

This is the way I see it, the landlord needs to do eicr regardless of what the tenant did, if any faults are showing due to the tenant then she charges him for rectifying them

 

I was given to understand (Landlord head on) that there was 1 date after which all new tenancies had to be certified and a later date for existing tenancies so as to spread the workload out a bit. We had an issue with this when we had booked 3 to coincide with a full rewire in 1 property (teacher tenant, half term). One couple split and our letting agents wanted me to get an EICR as it would be a new tenancy but did concede in the end that it was 1 person moving out rather than new bodies moving in.

That tenant with new better half moved out last week and no request for new cert from agents (2 years remain of the original)

In this case as a landlord I'd need to be sure that the work was safe as I can see the lights have been changed so either change the lights back: how does the landlord know or formally certify the works.

You lot always bang on about not being able to certify another spark's work so what choice does the landlord have but to commission an EICR?

 

But she has to do that anyway for a new tenancy.

 

Not so. There is no requirement for a landlord to carry out an EICR at change of tenancy.

 

There are a lot of unknowns here but I get the distinct impression the op didn't ask the LL if he could move the fittings before he did. If he had they could have come up any number of arrangements to sort this out and he would have saved him self a great deal of hassle and grief.

 

Sure are. We don't know if the landlord is fair minded and reasonable or just another who thinks the tenant's deposit is there to be plundered for their own enrichment.

 

See post 17.

Since 2020, legislation requires landlords to obtain EICRs every 5 years, or at change of tenancy.
Sounds like she’s trying to pull a fast one, getting you to pay for something she’s responsible for obtaining anyway.

 

Here it is

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2020/9780111191934

Where does it say this?

or at change of tenancy.

 

I thought it was at change of tenancy too, I can now see that is not the case.

 

The advice published at the time by Napit (New publication Landlords and Electrical Inspectors Gui (napit.org.uk) P.63 and Section 5.

Whilst there is no need to carry out a full EICR at change of tenancy providing a current report is still in date (within five years) it is still the responsibility of the landlord to ensure the installation continues to be safe - this could be achieved by a formal visual inspection. Section 5 explains how to take a risk based approach to testing and inspection of rental property.

However compliance with the regulations is achieved it is important to keep accurate records.

 

Some confusion reigns mate.

When we are stating you can't certify somebody elses work that is actuall in reference to a Part P notification. Anybody can issue a minor work certificate, electrical installation certificate etc but not if it is being used to nortify work to LABC. That either has to be notified ahead, carried out by a spark registered with a scheme ie Napit, NICEIC or a 3rd party notification via a NAPIT approved spark.

 

Why didn't you change them back to the way they were.

 

You don't need a NEW eicr at change of tenancy... You just have to provide a current, (i.e. less than 5 years old), one to a new or prospective, (if they ask), tenant.

See here...

EICRs

Which contains...

"Supply a copy of this report to the existing tenant within 28 days of the inspection and test.
Supply a copy of this report to a new tenant before they occupy the premises.
Supply a copy of this report to any prospective tenant within 28 days of receiving a request for the report."

Regards,
Cando

 

But it's real handy if it's needing renewed anytime soon.