An EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) in a Glasgow buy to let property has uncovered 5 potentially serious problems.

The 5 Electrical Issues:

1. Dangerous Consumer Unit – exposed live parts
2. Electric Shower Tripping When Turned On
3. Faulty Bathroom Extractor Fan
4. Faulty Kitchen Light
5. Faulty Light Switch

EICR Fault 1. Dangerous Consumer Unit

The electrician conducting the EICR quickly noticed that there were exposed live metal parts in the consumer unit of the property.

The tenant wasn’t aware of the danger.

This is blatantly dangerous, and puts the tenant at risk of serious electrocution, which is why there is a legal obligation for landlords to have the electrics in their rental properties checked on a regular basis – no less than every 5 years.

EICR Fault 2. Electric Shower Tripping When Turned On

The tenant in this property reported that every time they tried using their electric shower, all the electrics tripped.

He tried and tried and tried again, but eventually gave up, told his landlord – who told us – and so we arrived to find the problem.

Here’s What We Found:

Burnt-Out Shower Wiring

By tripping his electrics in an attempt to turn the shower on, the tenant was unknowingly provoking the hidden electrical fault into starting small fires in the walls of the property, completely melting and burning the wiring, worsening the problem.

Fortunately this fault was discovered and fixed before it could turn into a much bigger problem, for the tenant, the landlord, other residents in the building, their families, and so on.

EICR Fault 3. Faulty Bathroom Extractor Fan

Every bathroom needs adequate ventilation due to the potential for adverse water damage in the form of mould, or in the case of this rental property, electrical damage.

The extractor fan installed in this rental property was an axial fan – meaning it’s skewed blades spin to drive air in the desired direction, in or out – which was inadequate for this property because the long ducting from the bathroom rendered the weak power of the simple axial fan ineffective, causing moisture build-up, and eventually water damage.

No wonder it wasn’t working.

We uninstalled the weak axial fan and replaced it with a high powered centrifugal fan, which is better suited to longer ducts with higher resistance.

Now the moisture in the air (from the tenant’s hot, steamy showers) can be dispelled from the bathroom, helping to prevent water damage in the future.

EICR Fault 4. Faulty Kitchen Light

All homes in Scotland, including rental properties, must meet the Repairing Standard as described in Section 13 of Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, which states:

13. (1) (c) A house meets the repairing standard if the installations in the house for the supply of … electricity … are in a reasonable state of repair and in proper working order.

As if that wasn’t enough, landlords must also ensure their buy to let properties meet the Tolerable Standard, as described in Section 86 of Housing (Scotland) Act 1987, which states:

66. (1) (c) a house meets the tolerable standard … if the house has satisfactory provision for … artificial lighting.

This means, although it may not be as dangerous as the issues discussed so far, a faulty light in a rental property ought to be identified by the tenant/landlord and repaired as soon as possible.

EICR Fault 5. Faulty Light Switch

Everything stated above – in point 4 – applies here.

In this rental property there were separate electrical issues needing to be repaired:

• A faulty light
• A faulty light switch

It may not be obvious to you, or your tenant, whether there is an electrical issue with the light switch or the light itself.

As we’ve seen with the electrical shower in this property, the issue might actually be one with the wiring itself, and the danger may be greater than you think.

Watch the Video

Watch us fix all the problems discussed here in our YouTube Video:

Fixing 5 EICR Faults in Rental Property, Glasgow

What’s the Key Takeaway?

The key takeaway is: not all electrical problems are easily identified.

Until an electrical safety inspection is done and an EICR certificate is completed for your rental property, you can’t know what dangers are present.

Fortunately we were able to uncover and fix all the electrical issues in this property before they evolved into serious, potentially fatal, problems.

EICR’s are included in all our Compliance Packages for landlords, making compliance and certification easy.

Click HERE to see our Landlord Compliance Packages