Renting out Mum's house

[Justin Passing]

She's off into a home.
House not rewired since built, c 1954.
TNS afaicr.

Rubber cables, no earths on lights, luvly.
I'm assuming it'll need a complete rewire regardless -?

3 bed detached, Southampton area. I'm seeing online quotes around £3k - £4.5k.
Is that enough, even for "ordinary"?
I don't know if there are usable conduits down to the light switches. Does that matter?

We may rent it until she won't need it then sell it.
Is there anything else or extra or more desirable we should be considering now that should have done to avoid it being redone later?


My brother's keen to reduce costs by running cables and making holes for sockets. (I CBA, though I did Part P course once a while ago.)
Would that reduce the bill much?

Sorry if it's a boring set of questions.

 

[Colin Brenton]

When I bought my place (3 bed semi, built in 1955/56) it was all rubber insulated, and I had it rewired before I moved in.

You certainly won't get an EICR passed (and so be able to rent it legally) without doing it, if the cable IS genuinely rubber insulated.

As to a spec, just put in plenty of sockets and a new owner can tweak the lighting etc to their taste later.

 

[Taylortwocities]

@Justin Passing do not do anything in the hope that you will save money. If you do it wrong it will cost more to put it right.
You will need a registered electrician in any event.

Find your electrician and discuss with him/her what you can do under their guidance.

 

[Diver Fred]

Before you do anything get a SAP assessment on the property. If the building cannot achieve a 'D' rating (or at the very least a high 'E') then you will have even bigger bills to raise the building energy performance to a 'C' rating for April 2025.

Today you need an EPC rating of E to let a property. that changes in 2025 for new let's and 2028 for let's in place before 2025.

 

[flameport]

I'm seeing online quotes around £3k - £4.5k.

That will get you the absolute minimum using the cheapest tat available.
Allow at least 2x more for a sensible rewire.
Plus a substantial amount on top for replastering and redecoration.
You are unlikely to get any change from £10k before it's in a rentable state - and that's just the electrical.

My brother's keen to reduce costs by running cables and making holes for sockets.

Doubtful that would save anything, and even if it did, it will be insignificant.

If saving money is the objective, then don't spend any money on it at all, and sell the property exactly as it is immediately.
Property prices as currently as high as they have ever been.
That situation won't be continuing for much longer.

 

[ericmark]

I unfortunately have to agree with @flameport, I had the same problem, mother wanted to feel the care home was temporary, two problems, one she had tried to put an extension lead in a bucket of water thinking it was one fire, it was just the red neon, so wanted home safe for her, and if she stayed in the care home, wanted income from renting house to pay towards the cost of the care home.

Part of house already rewired, so had a bare minimum rewire with me making good, cost was around 3k mark, but North Wales so cheaper, and before brexit etc. It was hard work following the electricians making good, hind sight maybe not the best idea, but ended up with a safe house for mother, and could rent if required.

The hassle selling the house was still there after mother died, but she only ended up in a care home for three weeks, so she had 2 years at home she would not have had if we had not rewired. But we felt trapped, once we had spent the money, and put in a lot of time and effort looking after mother for no gain, thought of after all that council forcing us to sell her home for her care seemed wrong.

 

[Justin Passing]

Thanks guys, some good thoughts there.

Loft insulation and ol back boiler will hit the EPC....

 

[aptsys]

£3.5-£4k might do it in trunking etc. It would be recommended to spend more than this and get a good install done though with quality parts.

You certainly won't get an EICR passed (and so be able to rent it legally) without doing it, if the cable IS genuinely rubber insulated.

That's not strictly true.

 

[ericmark]

My brother-in-law was set on getting father-in-laws house to scratch before selling it, and the buyer ripped everything out, so simply no point in doing anything but clean it before selling.

As to renting, I looked at it as said, and decided too many hoops to jump through, but son has rented his old house, taken the on line landlord exam but in Wales so the rules are slightly different. He started by renting out a room, he was actually living in my house, but rules for renting out a room are different to whole house, and he could get away with more faults, but got less money, I think he was daft, but I can see the point where the home may still be required latter.

The EICR is a bit stupid, there is nothing to say where the demarcation is between C2 and C3, dangerous C1 is clear, but all 230 volt electric is potentially dangerous, and we can't say an inspector is wrong giving C2, but also can't say wrong giving a C3, and my son simply wrote out an EICR with all C3 codes not C1, C2 or FI codes so it passed.

I would not do that with mothers house, as I wanted mother to be safe, but there is nothing to stop my son and I writing out our own EICR, we both have C&G 2391 neither of use would put a tenant in danger, but to my mind having no checking to see if the paperwork matches house seems daft. It is like asking some one to do their own covid-19 test and register it on a NHS website, and then your employer asking you to print out the email from the NHS to say your clear, since NHS only have your word for if you did the test, then clearly that should also be good enough for employer.

The EICR is my saying my house is OK, so open to abuse.

 

[Colin Brenton]

That's not strictly true.

Really? How so. I would have thought it would have been an instant fail, surely?

 

[Taylortwocities]

Really? How so. I would have thought it would have been an instant fail, surely?

It’s is unlikely, but possible, that an installation wired in rubber insulated cable passes the visual and electrical test requirements of an EICR.
In that case, I would use the C3 to suggest improvement recommended.
That would provide a satisfactory outcome.
Note that there is no “pass” or “fail” conclusion to an EICR.

 

[aptsys]

Really? How so. I would have thought it would have been an instant fail, surely?

As said, the condition may actually be acceptable.
Unlikely, but the installation could be wired recently in HO7RN-F rubber flex.

 

[DIYWell]

If you want to get a handle on the cost of the rewire, think £75 for each socket point, £50 per light, £50 per switch, £100 per cooker point/electric shower. It's a guess. Chasing in solid masonry walls it time consuming. Chasing in plasterboard much easier. Expect the work to take 3 to 5 days.

If you go down the rewire and rent route, get three quotes. Pick the middle. Domestic rewire are a race to the bottom. You pay peanuts, you get monkeys.

Maybe you'll get something off if your brother does the chasing and clearing, but the sparks won't let him run wires.

 

[HawkEye244]

That will get you the absolute minimum using the cheapest tat available.
Allow at least 2x more for a sensible rewire.
Plus a substantial amount on top for replastering and redecoration.
You are unlikely to get any change from £10k before it's in a rentable state - and that's just the electrical.


Doubtful that would save anything, and even if it did, it will be insignificant.

If saving money is the objective, then don't spend any money on it at all, and sell the property exactly as it is immediately.
Property prices as currently as high as they have ever been.
That situation won't be continuing for much longer.

Out of interest, why don't you think property prices won't rise?
I would assume, given that inflation is increasing, the only things worth much in the future will be physical assets ?

Just a thought to the OP...
Have you considered renting it out to a lodger instead? This may bypass a lot of the paperwork required..
I have thrown in the towel when it comes to rental income even though my property is up to standard. The odds of a tenant in this part of the country not paying has never been higher. I would rather it sat empty or with me in it not earning any money than have it trashed again.

Also, just to add that if you do join the landlord game, such is the attitude to private landlords in this country now that rental income is considered 'unearned income'. Having been a landlord for almost 10 years and recently given it up, I can say with some certainty that my 'unearned' income was anything but..

 

[flameport]

given that inflation is increasing,

Inflation has to be controlled.
The main method of doing so is to put up interest rates.
When that happens, it's big bust time, as all those with mortgages they can currently just about barely afford suddenly won't be able to afford them. Particularly those with interest only arrangements.