Wiring in new apartment

[MrHandy2013]

My wife and I have recently moved into a new apartment. It is very nice but as a retired contractor, I tend to look at things differently than most.
We recently purchased a portable air conditioner. It works great until we trun the microwave on in the kitchen. The a/c is in the bedroom. There are three outlets in the bedroom and 2 outlets in the kitchen that are all on one 15 amp breaker. What bothers me is the the sub panels was inspected in 2002. I am going to presume that the wiring itself was never inspected or not inspected when this space was converted into an apartment in 2002. I can't move the a/c to the living room because those 5 outlets are on one 15 amp breaker and between the computers,TV, lights, stereo and cable equipment, I definitely know the breaker will trip.
At this point I do not know what I should do. The owner of the building is a contractor. He only purchased this place in the last couple of years and remodeled this place with everything new BUT the electric. It was an apartment before and the previous tenant was here about 9 years.
Do I contact the owner about my concerns or the local building department? I don't want to tick off the new landlord but the way this place is wired, it's no only inconvenient, I personally believe it isn't completely safe. My wife and I pay a lot for renters insurance and if something were to happen, I don't want them denying a claim should it be due to inadequate and unsafe wiring.

I was a Home Inspector and I would not have given a good report based on this alone.

Any recommendations? Thanks.

 

[mjf]

I can't comfortably suggest much since one must hold an Orange County license these days in Goshen and you are retired.

My first thought is the (hopefully) simple solution and check and see if any "overloaded" breakers have 2 wires landed on them.

As far as who to contact, I'd probably let the building owner know that you can't even run an A/C and see if he will address the situation.

Good luck

 

[growler]

I am going to presume that the wiring itself was never inspected or not inspected when this space was converted into an apartment in 2002.

Do I contact the owner about my concerns or the local building department?

First off the apartment should have been inspected (electrical and everything) when the area was converted to living space in 2002. You can check with the building department and see if a certificate of occupancy was issued. ( I know of some apartments that are being rented out that are not legal).

I would think this certificate of occupancy is what you will need to make the insurance company happy.