Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)

Periodic condition reporting explained

An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR), formally known as a Periodic Inspection Report (PIR) before BS7671:2008 [IET Wiring Regulations] Amendment 1 was published in July 2011, is a report detailing the suitability of an existing electrical installation for continued safe operation.

Obtaining such a report on your home electrics is not currently a legal requirement, however in the case of dwellings it is recommended in BS7671 that you have your installation properly inspected at least every ten years. For offices, shops and properties being rented, an inspection up to every five years or upon a change of occupancy is recommended. Landlords are obliged to ensure the electrical installation in their property is safe, and ordering an EICR is the only recognised method for ensuring compliance. From mid-2020, it became a legal obligation for landlords in the private rented sector to have their installations passed as fit for continued use.

If you don’t have complete and valid EICR paperwork, you may be required to or want to obtain such if you plan to sell or rent your property, if you have major building work planned, if there has been a serious incident such as fire/flood damage, if previous electrical work is suspected to have been botched, if your insurance requires it or if you have purchased or rented a property where you feel the electrical installation may be old, inadequate or unsafe.

An EICR will involve the inspection and testing of all of your final circuits, your consumer unit(s), the protective devices, the suppliers' service head & earthing arrangements and the earth bonding. The report you receive will classify the overall installation as satisfactory or unsatisfactory as deemed appropriate by the inspector. Any deviations from the regulations will either be coded as C1, danger present, C2, potentially dangerous, C3, improvement recommended or FI, Further Investigation required without delay. Any C1, C2 or FI observation would result in an ‘unsatisfactory’ verdict being passed on the installation as a whole. A C3 is an advisory which requires you to make an informed decision on whether or not to act on the inspector's advice to alter or upgrade.

Examples of Coding:

C1 - Immediate danger - Exposed live parts, wiring undersized for design current.

C2 - Dangerous in a fault - Missing earthing for Class I equipment, incorrectly rated fuse/breaker

C3 - Advisory - Plastic switchgear located in sole escape route, no RCD protection on certain circuits.

FI - Further Investigation - Test result out of tolerance which may impair the performance of safety devices.

A valid report is not just a few pieces of paper. The inspector who signs the report is transferring legal liability for the ongoing electrical safety of the installation onto his/her company, so in the event of an incident such as an electrical fire or shock injury, having a valid and current report will help you with any legal or insurance claims. Without it, you won't be able to prove that you kept the electrical installation suitably maintained. It is important therefore that the company undertaking the report is competent and insured. I hold City & Guilds Level 2 and Level 3 qualifications for electrical inspection and testing and I have the professional indemnity insurance to back up my results, however there are plenty of people out there passing verdict without the experience, training or insurance making the whole process one of buyer beware. It should be like booking an MOT on your car, however through ignorance, incompetence, fraudulence or those inspectors simply applying what they'd like to see as opposed to what the industry guidance permits them to tick off, the state of the industry is such that if you booked ten inspections on any given property, the observations would likely vary wildly resulting in some passing and some failing the installation. Some inspectors would be out in fifteen minutes, others would take all day. The process is largely unpoliced and massively abused.

An EICR, properly done, fully satisfies the requirements of landlords, estate agents, letting agents, banks, solicitors, mortgage lenders, loan providers, insurers, local authority building control and surveyors. Where someone refers to a 'landlord electrical safety certificate', they actually mean the EICR paperwork as no standard 'landlord safety certificate' is provided by BS7671 and any paperwork claiming to be such is meaningless if it doesn't contain the information BS7671 demands.

Domestic

Planning on home improvement or want the peace of mind knowing your electrical wiring is safe and in good working order, then give us a call we can provide Electrical Inspection Certificate on your property

It is recommended your property should be tested every 10 years.

We know the safety of you and your household is your top priority. Sub-standard work not only risks the integrity of your property, it also puts lives in danger.

Landlords

Finding trustworthy tradespeople is a stressful experience. After all, no one wants to be taken for a ride by a rogue trader. If you want to find the right person for the job, we are here to help.

Poor installation work endangers lives.

We know the safety of tenants is your top priority. Sub-standard work not only risks the integrity of your property and puts your tenants in danger, but as the Landlord you could receive fines of up to £30,000 if the electrical safety standards of your property are not met.

What the regulations say

Private Landlords must ensure every electrical installation in their residential premises is inspected and tested at intervals of no more than 5 years by a qualified and competent person.

In England, Under The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, landlords are required to have the electrical installations in their properties inspected and tested, at least every five years, by a person who is qualified and competent. This applies to new tenancies from the 1st July 2020 and to all other tenancies from the 1st April 2021. For detailed Guidance on these Regulations, please click here.

If you're booking a domestic Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR), aka Periodic Inspection / Landlord Certificate, these are currently priced at £25 per circuit

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