Avoiding PAT testing on a rental..
Discussion
I'm renting out a house as the owner is 89 and in a care home.
Doing it through an estate agent, who want £100 to PAT test the appliances - a microwave, a kettle, and a Dyson hoover. I want to leave them there for the tenants - it is being rented unfurnished, but thought they might be handy for the first few weeks at least until they get sorted with all their own stuff.
If I cut the plugs off them and put them in the garage, would that mean they do not need PAT tested? Then I'll stick plugs on them once the rental is agreed, and tell the tenants they can do what they like.
Would that work? After all, an appliance with no plug cant be tested and cant be used. Or do I just take them away and then pop round on the day they move in and leave them back...
Doing it through an estate agent, who want £100 to PAT test the appliances - a microwave, a kettle, and a Dyson hoover. I want to leave them there for the tenants - it is being rented unfurnished, but thought they might be handy for the first few weeks at least until they get sorted with all their own stuff.
If I cut the plugs off them and put them in the garage, would that mean they do not need PAT tested? Then I'll stick plugs on them once the rental is agreed, and tell the tenants they can do what they like.
Would that work? After all, an appliance with no plug cant be tested and cant be used. Or do I just take them away and then pop round on the day they move in and leave them back...
It's complete inexperience - I have never had a property up for rent, I am not related to the owner, and any rent goes towards her care home fees of £700 a week.
So I am renting it using a local estate agent, and these are their terms - I know some things are not legally required, but it is their requirement before they will put it up for rent. It doesn't have to be done by their people, but I have to either have them do it or organise it myself.
There is a spark who lives across the road, who knows her well as before she had to move into the home (dementia) she would do thinks like forget where the two consumer units were - and being very fond of chandeliers and the like, bulbs were always blowing and knocking off all the lights - so she would ring him and he'd walk over and flick it back on for her.
They also want an EICR, and charge £125 for that - is that over the top as well? I phoned the spark across the road and he said it was "expensive" - but he does all the small stuff for free, so I don't know whether he means £100 expensive, or £50 expensive.
So I am renting it using a local estate agent, and these are their terms - I know some things are not legally required, but it is their requirement before they will put it up for rent. It doesn't have to be done by their people, but I have to either have them do it or organise it myself.
There is a spark who lives across the road, who knows her well as before she had to move into the home (dementia) she would do thinks like forget where the two consumer units were - and being very fond of chandeliers and the like, bulbs were always blowing and knocking off all the lights - so she would ring him and he'd walk over and flick it back on for her.
They also want an EICR, and charge £125 for that - is that over the top as well? I phoned the spark across the road and he said it was "expensive" - but he does all the small stuff for free, so I don't know whether he means £100 expensive, or £50 expensive.
WindyMills said:
PAT testing is not mandatory. End of.
Having it done is no guarantee to prevent a fire. And the council won't fine you if not done.
It is used by competent people and organisations to demonstrate that it has been checked and any repairs carried out. The frequency depends with usage.
People choose not to do it, I don't know what they will tell insurance/police/magistrate if it all goes tits up.
This isn't so much about what is legally required - it is the agent's conditions before they will rent and manage it. Having it done is no guarantee to prevent a fire. And the council won't fine you if not done.
It is used by competent people and organisations to demonstrate that it has been checked and any repairs carried out. The frequency depends with usage.
People choose not to do it, I don't know what they will tell insurance/police/magistrate if it all goes tits up.
And they are pretty much the only agent I have found who will rent it - as the owner is now a Landlord, and she has dementia - she won't even remember that she has signed the agreement. There is no POA in place, and I have spoken to her solicitor who basically said "As long as anything you do is in her best interest, the Dean (of the Court of Protection, I think) won't prosecute you".
I manage her financial matters and everything else, and have a huge file of receipts that I will basically have to keep until she dies.
Simon Brooks said:
Just remove them, if they go wrong they are your responsibility, only thing you may want is a certificate to say electrics are safe and gas safe certificate
unfurnished means unfurnished, dont give yourself the grief
Thinking that is probably the best bet. There is a freezer, a washing machine, and a tumble dryer in the garage as well that I had forgotten about. There's a fridge freezer in the kitchen but as it's built in I presume it won't need tested - it is an old "De Deitrich" if I remember right.unfurnished means unfurnished, dont give yourself the grief
Would the landlord be responsible if it broke down? It's been there for about 10 years, and is an odd size - it packed up once and was fixed, but in the meantime I was looking for a replacement and the only thing that would fit was £2000 delivered!
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