Before I get officialdom involved, I'm sure someone here can help.
My wife owns a tiny property which is rented out. The tenant recently had a problem with the consumer unit and called the letting agents whose electrician fixed the problem but says it needs a new CU fitted to meet current regulations. He quoted £133 in labour and £344 for parts (plus VAT of course).
I queried the quote and was told "it will take 5 - 7 hours and the parts cost is what my suppliers charge".
Now I'm not that dumb and I've replaced several CUs in my own homes over the years. My query is can I do what I used to do, pull the main fuse, change the CU then call the electricity supplier and have them inspect and refit the fuse - or does part P plus the fact that it's rented impose more requirements on me?
"Norman Billingham" coughed up some electrons that declared:
First thing I would question is whether there is a need to bring the installation up to the 17th. I'm not offering an opinion as I am aware that it is a hotly debated issue. Some say that any alterations to, say a final ring circuit would require at least that circuit to comply to the 17th (generally add an RCD, often in the form of replacing the MCB with an RCBO
*if* the board can take it). OTOH, the extra protection that RCDs on socket circuits offers is a Good Thing (TM) WRT to the tenants. This aspect needs more comment from others on this group.
I'm not sure about the implications with your wife being the landlord, but to be legal a CU change would need to either have you employ a registered electrician who can self certify - or - notify Building Control and do it as a part P notifiable job, which it is classed as.
In order to do the latter, you would need to test the installation including all final circuits affected by that CU. Either Building Control will do this, or they'll tell you to get it done or you'll need a suitable and calibrated tester and be able to demonstrate competence to the BCO.
Effectively, this amounts to a PIR inspection. In all, it's going to cost you, say 80-100 quid+VAT for a basic 17th split load CU (MK) plus a load of MCBs plus miscellaneous bits plus maybe 100-200 ish for a PIR depending on how tiny the property is and where it is plus the BNA fee, say 100+VAT.
Although I am hardly noted as being a supporter of Part P, in this case, you might be as well off with the quote from the sparky. If you do, make sure (s)he is registered and request a copy of the EIC in advance.
Oh, and please wait for some more comments before deciding - there are more informed people than me on this group.
Actually, it would almost certainly need a complete rewire to meet current regulations, as would nearly every building in the country. It doesn't need to meet current regulations. It just needs to be safe. If it meets the regulations in force when it was last rewired, that's probably fine unless it's many decades old.
What was wrong with the CU? How old is it (and the rest of the wiring)? If the CU needs replacing, then it should be done to current standards, but it shouldn't be replaced just to bring it to current standards.
The parts cost is stupid too. If you've got the parts and labour costs transposed, that might be more like it.
Yes, I had one changed recently (new circuit needed up to spec CU). Mine was done for £300 all in by an electician.
As the elctrician told me, the big problem is they have to factor in houses where the new CU RCD trips (there not having been one before). They can't leave the curstomer without electricity so end up tracing faults that are nothing to do with them. He had just done one of these.
I guess the installation took about 3-4 hours. If yours is more difficult and the timing right, the figures seem not far off the norm.
Might it be cheaper (and easier) to source and buy the parts yourself and get the sparky to fit and test/certify it? If I went through my local BCO it'd cost me almost as much as the sparky has quoted for the installation work just to apply to do the work myself and have it tested.
That's a silly amount for parts. Have a look here for a more realistic guide:-
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course he his entitled to charge more than what he pays - but that looks a silly markup. On the other hand the labour charge is on the low side unless it's a very small unit.
Back to front I presume... £133 for parts is believable.
Fair enough if quoting a fixed price perhaps...
Part P makes it harder.
However, as others have said, I would question why the CU needs changing anyway. There is no requirement to bring existing installations up to current standards.
IIUC there is a requirement for a gas inspection each year. Not sure about electrics. However electrical inspections don't usually fail a system for being not to current standards - especially if it is basically ok.
There are additional regs if the house is licensed as a House of Multiple Occupancy. A Periodic Inspection Report is usually a condition of getting a licence. Regulations vary between councils but most follow the Model Standards fairly closely. (This is for Scotland.)
Dunno what Model Standards are but other than maybe that, it's the same for England and Wales: for a standard non-HMO rented property, there is no need for any electrical certification whatsover (YET), despite what many letting agents try to claim.
This is what you get for using a letting agent, most of what he is charging you is a backhander for the agent as it's usually a relative of someone who works there.
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