- The new Landlord regs apply to long term domestic tenants, but what applies to holiday lets? Is the frequency of inspections the same - I rather suspect that they are less onerous.

 

I carry out many Inspection and Tests every year in holiday lets. Some are wooden chalets, some small brick built cottages and some very large traditional houses. My inspection and testing is very thorough.


Fails can be due to previous developers doing up a building on the cheap or in a hurry.


Fails can be due to abuse of the installation by children or pets. Spilled liquids, flexes chewed through by pets if I am PATg. Smoke alarm batteries stolen for whatever reason.


Because the holiday lets are used by any old body anything can happen. So the installation has to be very safe and tested thoroughly.


Inadequate main bonding is sometimes found. Loose or cracked  wiring accessories. 


The job can take at least half a day if not longer.


When carrying out inspection and testing I represent the property owner and want to protect their interests.


I also want to protect the visiting guests.


I have a serious responsibility to consider ALL aspects of use and the current condition of the installation. I sometimes walk through the building imagining it being occupied, and just how safe it is. It is not a job to be rushed.


Z.

 

24Hour:

lack of surge is a note for me , unless other circumstances.

obvious c3 for me re the plastic fusebord , but and i say but with tongue in cheek !, the napit code breaker book states a c2 for a plastic db with no thermal or other damage if it’s mounted under the stairs , my opinion is it’s still a c3 if in good order , and that’s the nub bright there , it’s engineering judgement by an inspector who should have the necessary experience and expertise, and in the current market those 2 attributes are in short supply .

The lack of S.P.Ds is a contentious issue. Most customers do not understand them, they just think that we want to profit from their installation. They are expensive and a pain to install in some cases. Also, do they really work for sustained long fault overvoltages?


I have seen many local cases of damage due to long sustained overvoltages when an S.P.D. probably would not have helped. Perhaps they are good for short transient overvoltages but for a long term fault I do not think so.

Z.

whjohnson:

Assume a scenario where everything else in a domestic property is satisfactory but with the following exceptions -

Consumer unit is plastic but not in an escape route.

Consumer unit is MK 16th ed split load, with single RCD protection on one side but with the mcbs replaced by RCBOs for all circuits on the other side.

No surge protection present, and all other devices function correctly.

Tails are 16mm but there a 60A fuse in the cut out - verified during a meter change recently.


So, what, if any coding should be applied? I am at a complete loss to fail it in any respect.

 

A plastic consumer unit, C3. No big deal if  it is undamaged. There must still be millions in use. We do not seem to have heard of many, or any, plastic consumer unit fires recently. I wonder why?


Z.