Inspection by Council of rental property

society4

Has anyone had one of these inspections, my apt was built on 2003 and is relatively well maintained and I’ve been notified about one of these inspections. I have the usual fire blanket/ext/relevant appliances in working order (gas boiler is 10 years old but serviced regularly)etc. Is there any issues I need to look out for? surely they wouldn’t insist in an electrical/plumbing certification ? The bathrooms have no windows but have extractor fan and a wall heater in the main bathroom but none in the ensuite ……any advice appreciated

SOPHIE THE DOG

Expect a long list of things to do.

Full electrical test cert will be asked for.

I'll DM you what I got if you wish (if I can work out how)

SOPHIE THE DOG

No idea why post went up twice

Rows Grower

Don't worry about it, the extractor fans instead of windows is a plus. They won't be looking for certification of electrical or plumbing. You might have to fit some trickle vents on some window frames which is a mickey mouse job that costs pennies. Once everything is working and there are no obvious issues the apartment should pass easy enough.

Iscreamkone

I heard some people end the tenancy every time they get an inspection letter and then restart the tenancy a month later to be put back to the end of the queue. Not sure if this actually works.

Grumpypants

I got small things like put those child locks on the upstairs windows. Add a fire blanket. Fella doing the inspection said to tenant the place was great that they were lucky but he had to put something.

society4

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051111#Comment_122051111

Yes please could you DM me the list…. I read though that the extractors have to be manually controlled with a switch with 15 min cut off ….mine activate with the light and switch and go off after a few mins when light turned off…….

circular flexing

I had an inspection a few years ago (2019) and the only thing I got dinged for was lack of CO2 monitors which was an easy fix. No mention of need certification for electric/plumbing.

society4

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051401#Comment_122051401

how old was your property….was it an apt?

society4

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051111#Comment_122051111

did the works cost you a lot to do?

circular flexing

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051511#Comment_122051511

It was a mid-terrace house built in 2007.

HarryHeart

I've had three houses inspected.

The first needed a new carbon monoxide detector. It was beeping so the tenant had binned it. ??

The second needed child safety locks on the upstairs windows. This is a small job.

The third had a carbon extractor over the cooker on an inside wall. They said it needed to be extracted to an outdoor wall. This was quite expensive and I feel was an unnecessary job.

I was never asked for an electrical test.

mr_ak

I had this inspection done today on the apartment I'm renting and we couldn't find the fire blanket (had it somewhere in one of the drawers) and the inspector mentioned she'll put it down as "fire blanket not available"

Would that be an issue for my landlord?

ballyharpat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122057535#Comment_122057535

Not a big issue, but it is a requirement for all rented properties. AFAIK

dennyk

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122057535#Comment_122057535

Should be no issue once you actually locate the fire blanket, since then it will be there, but it's a terrible idea to cram it away in a drawer in any case; it's required for a reason, and if something goes wrong you really don't want to be spending an hour digging through all of your presses while your kitchen burns down around you.

Rows Grower

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122051382#Comment_122051382

That's correct there has to be a 15 minute delay in the extractor to prevent the possibility of mould. At worst it will mean buying a replacement extractor fan and having an electrician run an extra wire to it. It's no big deal and is worth it to get it done in the long run.

mr_ak

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122058592#Comment_122058592

You're right. I was being careless.

I couldn't find it in the two drawers I checked at the time so the inspector just said she is going to mark it as not present because it had to be on the wall anyway. I was concerned that this would create an issue for my landlord.

Anyway, I informed him and he said he'll get it fixed to the wall soon.

Mrs OBumble

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122059302#Comment_122059302

It's actually good to let the inspector find something easy to fix like that. If they don't they keep looking and find something more difficult/expensive to fix.

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122056237#Comment_122056237

Extractor fan certainly have to go to the outside and a completely necessary job.

ballyharpat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122062451#Comment_122062451

An extractor fan in a bathroom for moisture does need to be vented outside or else the bathroom needs a window that can open to provide ventilation.

An oven extractor fan does not need to be vented outside, it can use a carbon filter and recirculate. There are many apartments that do not have a hood/extractor fan vented to the outside, I have 2 houses which both passed strenuous inspection and neither had the hood vented to the outside. I am not certain if there are requirements for ventilation if there is a gas cooker, or if the room where the cooker is needs a window that can be opened.

mrslancaster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122062451#Comment_122062451

Just curious here. I know a landlord who had an inspection and he had to install an extractor fan through the bathroom wall, even though there was an opening window and plenty of ventilation. Why was an extractor necessary in that situation?

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122065277#Comment_122065277

Not an extractor fan if it does not extract to the outside. Apartments do extract to the outside

Ray Palmer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122065645#Comment_122065645

Regulations

Hontou

I used to own 2 rental houses. One house had HAP tenants and was inspected regularly. They always found something. At the start it was very costly as I had to make changes to windows and create new vents which was fair enough. However, the tenants blocked the vents as they made the house colder but then complained to the council about the resulting mold. More inspections. The other house (similar property) had private tenants and was inspected less until recently. The tenants wanted new fencing and a new heating system and asked the council to inspect the property and recommend upgrades. I complained to the council and pointed out that other houses in the area never had any inspections and why did we have so many? (We are fully compliant with all regulations). I sold the first house because of the hassle and am giving notice on the second soon. I agree entirely with standards but the system is unfair when tenants cause the damage that is inspected and/or not all properties are inspected equally.

ballyharpat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122065914#Comment_122065914

In our apartment block, there are 6 that have no exterior vented hoods, they use charcoal filters.