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[find]

I rent a room in a outbuilding at the end of a garden. And, my landlord lives in the main house.

My room has its own electrical panel with its own main circuit breaker which can cut all the electricity into my room.

However, my landlord is able to cut my electricity into my room from his house when he wishes without cutting the electricity in its own house.

I would like to know

1. If, there could be in the house of my landlord another circuit breaker that my landlord can use to cut the electricity in my room when he wishes without cutting the electricity in his house. In this case my room would have two main circuit breakers one in my room and another in the main house

2. Or, to do cut the electricity in my room without cutting its own electricity in his house my landlord has to hire an electrician (or do this himself) to entirely disconnect my room from the electric network. In this case if he succeeds to cut the electricity in my room from time to time without having entirely disconnected my room from the electrical network does it mean that my landlord has illegally messed up with the electrical network?

[Mr White]

From this end of a keyboard it is not possible to give you a definitive answer as we have no idea how it has actually been connected.

Your "room" should be connected to a circuit breaker somewhere, but not for reasons you think it is. If something were to happen to the cable supplying your room, rather than a fire, the circuit breaker would trip.
Are you in America or Canada?

[find]

I am in the UK.

My room has already in it a circuit breaker in an electrical panel.

The question is could there be a circuit breaker to protect only the cable connecting my room to the main building because the main house is protected by its own main circuit breaker which could triger if something happenned to this cable?

There question is could there be circuit breaker in the house on addition to the circuit breaker which is in my room that my landlord could use to cut the electricity in my room without cutting the electricity in the main house?

[Mr White]

I already gave you the answer.

Your "room" should be connected to a circuit breaker somewhere, but not for reasons you think it is. If something were to happen to the cable supplying your room, rather than a fire, the circuit breaker would trip.

As you are in the UK the above is true.

[ericmark]

Some where in the main building will be an overload device, may also be a RCD, AFDD or SPD, but will be an overload, which will be sized to suit the cable between main building and outbuilding.

I have seen many times where a garage has been converted to be used for some thing else, but supply cable is still the original, so often the maximum size MCB is smaller then one would really want, also seen where in the house the cable was 2.5 mm² but across the garden it was 4 mm² but the total limit is what the 2.5 mm² can carry, so around 20 - 25 amp depending on installation method.

However I know from living in a caravan I could live with just a 16 amp supply, so even if garage converted to a granny flat, one could get away with a 16 amp supply unless one fits an instant shower, a little care and one can avoid it tripping.

So using more power than the trip will handle would likely cause it to trip, so power removed not though malice, but simply being overloaded.

Really a outbuilding used as accommodation will need in England and Wales not sure about rest of UK an electrical installation condition report and/or compliance with the rules for habitation, this could also mean council tax being charged independently for the two buildings, and of course two of all the rubbish bins.

It costs me £1000 a year because some silly person has decided my garden room is a separate building, but I can't rent it out as a flat, as it does not comply with all the habitation rules.

It could with planning permission be rented out as an office or workshop, but not as a flat, even when it has a cooker, bath, shower, toilet etc which one would expect in a flat, but all the services are shared with the main house, and I need access at all times to the garden room to reset any RCBO's which trip, and service the boiler etc. I would also need certificates to say electrics have been checked within last 5 years, and all the CO² alarms work etc.

I suppose I could rent it out as a workshop even when I know being used as a flat, but really not interested.

There is a big difference between a habitable room, and a workshop, I would need to ensure the supply is unlikely to trip, I have done this with a caravan by having a 10 amp MCB and a 4 amp MCB one for sockets and one for lights, so in theory my MCB will open at 14 amp, and the caravan sites one at 16 amp, however the rules on RCD's could still cause that to trip, so used a battery and charger, with all 12 volt lights, so if the supply tripped, I still had lights.

However I suppose your outbuilding is not used as a flat, so no need for emergency lighting? I do allow visitors to use my garden room, but as visitors, there is no charge, and they know I have key to enter the room to reset heating or electric. No different to any other rooms in the house.