Do you need.... A House Rewire
If you have got to the point, where you are considering having your house rewired then the following maybe of help.
Most rewires to domestic properties come about for one or more of the following reasons:
- As a result of an inspection/report
- Observations made by others, whilst work has been carried out
- Problems with sockets/lights not working
- Old light fittings/sockets and wiring
- Insufficient sockets / lighting points
- You just know by looking at it
To be fair, it may be that the installation looks in a bad way and does not have an up-to-date fuse board, and as such would not conform to today's wiring regulations (BS7671).
However that's not to say that the whole installation will need replacing. You may find that by installing a new fuse board with RCD Protection and the replacement of a few sockets / light fittings, it could be brought up-to- date. 
To establish just what the condition is of your installation, you should have a Periodic Inspection Report (PIR) carried out this would then identify any areas that need attention. It's possible that having looked at the fuse board and the cables coming away from it, we could say forget the PIR, you need a complete rewire.
Whilst it is not possible to tell if an electrical installation is safe without carrying out a complete electrical condition report, we feel that it is possible to tell that it is not safe and that it does need a house rewire in some situations.
As soon as you see a fuse board that's from the 40's or 50's with rubber cables coming from it, you can be pretty sure that it's time for that house rewire.
Another tell tell sign that a house rewire maybe called for, is when you have had Mr DIY or Mr Man from the pub, or old Frank from work carry out the electrical work.
We are able to tell that whoever did the work had only a limited knowledge; the type of cable used, the way it is installed, the type of outlets used, the circuit design (well lack of it) and the missing certificates.
As we have said, "Whilst it is not possible to tell if an installation is safe without carrying out an Electrical Condition Report, it is possible to tell that it is not safe"
Okay, so moving on with your electrical installation; if most of it was wired in the 50's and Mr DIY has had a go, so yes it is time for the house rewire.