What Is An EICR – The Revolutionary Approach

What is an EICR?

 An EICR, or Electrical Installation Condition Report, is a document that an electrician creates after thoroughly assessing the electrical systems in any commercial, domestic, or industrial property. It is sometimes called the Electrical Installation Condition Report or Landlord Safety Test. Based on current regulations, all rental properties must have an EICR on file. The current regulation are called The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulation which came into effect in 2020.

As Per Regulations, all private landlords should make sure that their electrical installations are up to code and in good working condition. An EICR ensures that all electrical installations and systems within a property are correctly installed, safe, and well maintained. It provides a vital assessment for properties of all sizes, from small homes to industrial facilities.

MAKE YOURSELF REGULATIONS COMPLAINT AND BOOK AN EICR TODAY!

Purpose of an EICR

The five primary objectives of an EICR are:

1. To establish that all electrical systems on the property are secure: A certified engineer or electrician will inspect the electricity to confirm it is without damage, wear and tear, and deterioration. They will also decide if an installation or equipment has been correctly set up.
2. The electrician will detect any issues that could endanger the people living on the property and recommend what needs to be done to ensure that the electrical system is running smoothly.
3. Are any parts of the electrical installation not up to the Institution of Engineering and Technology’s Wiring Regulations? Electrician will Inspect control gear and switchgear, bonds and earthing of wires and cables, as well as sockets for safety issues.
4. The EICR test helps individuals to know which electrical appliances inside their homes could potentially cause tragic accidents, by checking for damage and wear and tear.
5. The EICR establishes a baseline condition of an electrical installation, to be referenced in future inspections.  The report is also helpful in the event an accident occurs – serving as documentation that you have taken measures to ensure the safety of your customers and employees.

You cannot see electricity, and as electricity run through wires which are usually hidden inside our walls, we often forget to check the condition of our electrical installation. Cables can become damaged over time, so it is important to regularly check them for any signs of wear and tear. EICR- Electrical Installation Condition Report, does that for you, so you can sit back relax and enjoy rental income on your rented property. An EICR will give you a comprehensive overview of the state of your home’s electrics and whether it adheres to the current British Standard for electrical safety (BS 7671). The registered contractor carrying out the assessment will record various observations in line with BS 7671, as well as identify areas where improvements could be made to increase safety. Once the inspection is complete, you’ll receive a certificate that outlines the overall condition of the electrical installation. Generally, an EICR uses coding to rate different aspects of the property’s electricity.

Faulty wiring is one of the main causes of electrical fires in the home, so by completing an EICR every five years, you can reduce the risk of a fire happening in your tented residential property and safe a life, not only it keeps your tenant safe.

What is BS 7671 also known as British Standard BS 7671?

BS 7671:2018+A1:2020 is a non-statutory document that covers the technical aspects of CENELEC agreements. It was published by the British Standards Institute under the management of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and British Electrotechnical Committee (BEC).

BS 7671 is not legally required, but other legislation including the Electricity, Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002 and Part P of the Building Regulations 2010 refer to it. If BS 7671 is referenced in a contract, then common law will apply.

The BS7671 averages the time Inspectors will give an EICR for a maximum of 5 years, although this is only a recommended timeframe if the property installation being inspected is in good condition and up to code.

How Long does an EICR-Electrical Installation Condition Report last?

1. BS7671 states that the maximum pass report an inspector can give to a rented residential property is 5 years.
2. BS7671 states that the maximum pass report an inspector can give to a rented commercial property is 5 years.
3. BS7671 states that the maximum pass report an inspector can give to a rented industrial property is 3 years.

Although this is only a maximum recommended timeframe as per BS7671, if the property installation being inspected is in good condition and up to code.

However, if the property installation being inspected is in Fair Condition and up to code, the EICR-Electrical Installation Condition Report can pass anywhere from 1-5 years with C3 recommendations on the EICR to improve the electric condition of property.

The EICR- Electrical Installation Condition Report is either a Pass (Satisfactory) or Fail (Unsatisfactory).

If the report is a Pass (Satisfactory) the BS7671 states that the maximum pass report an inspector can give to a rented residential/commercial property is 5 years, and for industrial properties is 3 years, although this is only a recommended timeframe if the property installation being inspected is in good condition and up to code. However, if the property installation being inspected is in Fair Condition and up to code, the EICR-Electrical Installation Condition Report can pass anywhere from 1-5 years.

Is EICR a Legal Requirement?

It is a mandatory requirement as per UK Law to have EICR before renting out the property and get your Electrics tested every 5 years for same tenancy and get a new report whenever there is a change in tenancy. Never Heard about the regulations, you can read them here.

Who Can Perform an EICR-Electrical Installation Condition Report at your Property? 

Electricians who have Level 3 periodic qualification for Testing and inspections are certified to do an EICR test. Any Electrician who has level 3 testing and inspection qualifications, he/she Will either be NAPIT or NECEIC Registered. Most Councils and estate agents require EICR Report carried out by an NICEIC Contractor.

We are NIECIE Contractors and we can help you get an EICR Report.

Why should I get an EICR Done on my property?

 A qualified engineer or electrician will inspect the electrical system to make sure that it is free of damage, wear and tear and deterioration. They also determine whether an installation or equipment is properly installed, thus ensuring the safety of all property occupants.

To keep occupants safe, electricians detect damage and wear and tear that might affect the safety of a property. After detecting issues, they recommend corrective action to ensure that the electrical system is functional.

The Institution of Engineering and Technology’s Wiring Regulations sets the Criteria for what an electrical installation should meet. This includes the switchgear, control gear, earthing of wires and cables, condition of sockets and their corresponding criteria.

If the consumer unit is RCD Protected an EICR will help identify which electrical appliances in your home are old and could cause shocks or fires, so that you can repair or replace them.

The EICR is also useful for recording the condition of an electrical installation, to be used in future inspections. This way, you have proof that you took the measures necessary to ensure the safety of your tenants (Residential property), customers and employees (Commercial & Industrial Properties) in case an accident occurs.

How is an EICR Test Conducted?

Our Qualified NICEIC Electrician arrives at the property address where the inspection needs to be done.

Our Electrician needs access to all parts of property which includes, rooms, lounge, kitchen, loft(if any), bathroom and garden.

The Test is conducted in 6 simple steps

Live Test

Our Engineer will perform a live test on all circuits inside the consumer unit. The power will not be disconnected when performing a live test.

What is a consumer unit?

Please see the image below to understand a consumer unit

The live test include checking for proper grounding, voltage levels, and circuit breakers. If any problems are found, the electrician will report it on the EICR.

Dead Test

Before performing a dead test the electrician will first disconnects the electrical installation from the property’s main power supply. They will then inspect the installation based on standards set by IET’s Wiring Regulations.

Insulation Resistance Test on circuits

Insulation resistance testing is a method of testing insulation material for its ability to resist electrical current. This type of testing is often used to test insulation on electrical wires and cables. Insulation resistance testing can be used to find defects in insulation, to determine the thickness of insulation, or to verify the quality of insulation.

Socket & Fuse Spur Test

All Sockets and Fuse spurs are tested to make sure they don’t have reverse polarity and all sockets have earthing. If any socket is broken, dead, earthing missing or have reverse polarity issue, it will be noted on the EICR Report.

If the socket is either;

1. Broken
2. Paint over it
3. Has reverse polarity
4. Has earth missing

All of these will be noted as either C2 or C1 on EICR and fail the EICR Certificate, necessary remedial action needs to taken before the property is given a pass EICR. Same applies to fuse spur and any other fixed fixtures for example, light switches, pull cords, extractor fan buttons etc.

If you need to learn more about reverse polarity on sockets, we have written a full article in depth to help you understand (read more)

Changing a socket, a light switch, or a pull cord can cost you £20 to £35 per point depending on the location of the property.

Reverse polarity or isolation of a socket can cost you between £10 to £25 per point depending on the location of the property.

Rewire of the faulty wire, can cost you anywhere from £60 to £300, depending on the run of the wire from the consumer unit to the fault, if the run is 10 meters it will cheaper than a wire to be run for 50 meters, as more materials and more labour is involved, furthermore, if you want the wiring to be done in surface trunking or in wall channelling impact the price as well.

If any of the above minor work is done at the property to pass the EICR certification, the electrician should provide you with a minor work report along with a pass EICR certificate.

We have discussed Minor work report in detail in another article.

Water and gas bonding inspection

The electrician as part of the EICR test checks the water and gas pipe works and make sure that the water and gas pipe works are properly earthen, this is also referred to as water and gas bonding, the pipe work for water and gas running inside the property should be earthed. If the pipe work is missing earthing it will be noted as C2 code failure on the EICR Certificate and fail the EICR Test.

If the property is missing water or gas bonding, getting the bonding done on property each bonding can cost from £130 to £180 depending on the earth wire that needs to be run.

If any of the above minor work is done at the property to pass the EICR certification, the electrician should provide you with a minor work report along with a pass EICR certificate.

Lights Test

Electrician will do a visual inspection of all the lights in the property,

If the lights in any part of the property are flickering, he will report it on the EICR, for further investigation, and then a further investigation will be carried out to check if it is the light which is flickering faulty or the wiring which is feeding current to that lights/s faulty and according to which further remedial actions will be taken. If it is the light which is faulty and causing the flickering that it will be noted on the EICR as C3 recommendation to change the light but will not fail the report, however if it is the wire feeding current to the light faulty and causing flickering in the light, it will be noted as a C2 or C1 on the EICR and will need to be rectified unless a pass report EICR is given for the property.

If the lights in any part of the property are not working due to lights themselves being faulty it will be listed as C3 recommendation on the EICR to the change the lights but it will not Fail the report.

However, If a light fixture or fixtures are broken to an extent that the live wires are exposed this will be either reported on the EICR as C1 or C2 and need to be replaced unless a pass EICR report can be given for the property.

Our engineer will see the lights in the bathroom, to make sure they are IP rated, if lights in shower area also known as Zone 0 are not IP rated, it will be noted on the report, if the property has any outdoor light’s, they need to be IP rated as well and hence will be checked as part of EICR.

If your property has spot lights in the bathroom and they need to be replaced with IP rated lights each Ip rated spot light will cost you £35 to £45 to replace including labours and materials.

Outdoor lights can be replaced with bulkhead wall mounted IP rated light or other design IP rated wall mounted IP Rated light, Installation cost is between £60 to £90 and materials price vary depending on the design.

Bathroom light which is not a spot light will be replaced with bulkhead IP rated light and will cost £80 – £110 to replace including labour and materials.

If any of the above minor work is done at the property to pass the EICR certification, the electrician should provide you with a minor work report along with a pass EICR certificate.

In addition to the above 6 steps, the property earthing arrangements, meter tails, condition of consumer unit and other general condition of the property will also be taken into consideration when performing EICR Test.

The purpose of an EICR inspection is to look for specific issues that could be present, such as:

1. Bonding and earthing adequacy
2. The presence of residual current devices (RCDs) for sockets used with outdoor electrical equipment
3. Condition of visible cables and leads, light fittings, and down lights
4. Damage or wear and tear on the electrical installation or equipment
5. The serviceability of switches, light fittings, and other electrical equipment
6. The control gear’s suitability and switchgear

What Will happen if your Property Fails an EICR- Electrical Inspection Condition Certificate?

If your property fails an EICR-Electrical Installation Condition certificate, On Page 3 of the report it will states reasons for failure and every reason will have a Code attached to it, the codes can be C1, C2 and C3

Please see sample below for further clarification.

What Does C1, C2 and C3 codes state?

C1 Code indicates towards an immediate danger ⚠️ in the property and should be rectified within 24-48 hours

C2 Code indicates towards a non-immediate danger and should be rectified within 28 days from the day of EICR- Electrical Installation Condition Report

C1 and C2 code means that your property EICR-Electrical Installation Condition Report is Fail (unsatisfactory) and all C1 and C2 remedial actions listed on EICR Report should be rectified before you can obtain a Pass EICR Report for the property.

The report can sometime contain F1 code which means further investigation, for example if the property has high ZE value or the lights in the property are flickering.

What does this mean?

A further investigation on the issue in hand needs to be conducted before the EICR test can be carried any further, the further investigation will help the electrician find out the reason for flickering of the lights and if after further investigation the electrician finds out the light bulbs in the lights are faulty this will be listed on the report as C3 recommendation to change the light bulbs but if upon further investigation the electrician find out the wire feeding current to lights which are flickering is faulty than the wire needs to be replaced and this can be noted on the report either as C2 or C1.

C3 Code is a recommendation, it depends on you as a landlord if you want to carry out C3 code action/s at your property or just leave it on the report. C3 Recommendation if left on the EICR- Electrical Installation Condition Report does not fail the report, but clearly means your property electrics are in fair condition rather than good condition and your property might get a pass EICR- Electrical Installation Condition Report for anywhere from 1 to 5 years rather than complete 5 years.

What Happens after you get an EICR?

 An EICR is evidence that you followed electrical safety standards and took reasonable steps to ensure the safety of everyone in your property. After an inspection and test, the individual conducting it will provide you with a report detailing the results of the inspection and test as well as the date of when the next inspection and test is scheduled.

You must give copies of an EICR to:

1. All Existing Tenants Within 28 days after receiving test and inspection results.
2. Provide copy of the report to a new tenant/s when he/she moves in or before they occupy the premises
3. A Copy of an EICR to your estate agent
4. Within seven days of receiving a written request from the local housing authority, supply them with a copy of that report.
5. Until your next inspection and test, keep a copy of that report handy, as well as supplying a copy to the person conducting the next inspection and test.

What Report Should You ask from the electrician?

The regulations state that the person conducting the inspection and test should obtain a report. In general, an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) is used for this within the industry.

An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) is a report that assesses the safety of an existing electrical installation within a property. The purpose of the EICR is to confirm, as much as possible, whether or not the electrical installation is in safe condition for continued use.

The EICR will show whether the electrical installation is safe or needs improvement. A list of observations that need safety improvements will be provided.

If EICR fail do you need another EICR Report to be carried out?

If the electrical safety report is unsatisfactory, you will need to ensure that any required remedial work or further investigation is carried out within 28 days or within the time period specified in your report–whichever is less. You will need written confirmation (in the form of Electrical Installation Certificates or Minor Work Certificates) from the electrical installer you use to do any rectification work, and this must be kept with the unsatisfactory report as documentation.

How To Ensure the Electrical Inspector is Competent and Qualified?

Any Electrical Inspector you employ to undertake the electrical inspection and testing within your property should have;

1. Insurance: Sufficient insurance is critical and should include at the bare minimum £2 million in public liability insurance and £250,000 professional indemnity insurance.
2. A qualification covering the current version of the wiring regulations (BS 7671) as well as those periodic inspection, testing and certification of electrical installations.

We Are NICEIC Qualified Electrical Contractors and all our engineers are NICEIC Qualified with the minimum of 5 years of experience.

Why choose a Company to carry out your EICR Testing Rather than an individual Electrician?

1. Their employees have been verified to be qualified, experienced and competent.
2. They frequently check in with the company to ensure they are still qualified and that their insurance and records are up-to-date.
3. They check their inspection work for compliance.
4. The registration or certification body to which they belong can take corrective measures if needed, such as sanctions to ensure compliance or removing approval.

Do I Need A New EICR Every time a New Tenants Moves In?

 According to the specified regulations, an electrical safety certificate will remain valid for 5 years or less if the inspector believes it’s necessary. This suggests that ordinarily, you should only need to acquire a new certificate every five years. Additionally, this certification can be provided to any new tenants during that time frame.

NRLA received several reports recently that state an EICR is only good for ‘5 years or until change of tenancy.’ However, this is inaccurate since the regularity of required tests are interval-based instead of being set off by a change in tenancy. Therefore, a shift in tenants shouldn’t nullify an EICR.

To avoid any potential issues, it is best to speak with the person providing the report to ensure they are aware of this. The NRLA has raised this issue with MHCLG and the appropriate trade bodies to alerts as many electricians about this as possible.

Why Do You need an EICR-Electrical Installation Condition Certificate?

Over time, all electrical installations will naturally deteriorate as they are a working mechanism made up of various components and systems. Much like an MOT for cars, it is important that you regularly check the condition of your home’s electrics.

Periodic inspections will help unearth any potential dangers or problems which need to be addressed and will allow the installation to keep running safely and smoothly. We recommend always using a registered professional electrician.

If you are a landlord and are renting out your property you need an EICR-Electrical Installation Condition Report as per UK Law.

As per the legislation of UK Government  all new specified tenancies in UK from 1st of July 2020, should have a valid EICR Report for the property before renting the property to the tenant.

All Existing Specified tenancies in UK from 1st of April 2021, should get a valid EICR Report done on the property before 1st of April 2021.

The above if explained in simple terms;

If you have entered into a new tenancy agreement before 1st of July 2020, and when entering the tenancy agreement you got an EICR done for your rental property you won’t need a new EICR until the old one is valid if you are extended you tenancy agreement with the same tenant or entering into a new tenancy agreement with the same tenant.

Same rule applies to Existing Specified tenancies in UK from 1st of April 2021.

What Happens if you don’t get an EICR Certificate before renting out your property?

According to multiple health and safety laws, you are responsible for the well-being of those who live or work in your property. If you don’t take care of your building’s electrical system, and someone gets hurt or their possessions are ruined in an electric fire or from electrocution, you could be facing charges of negligence.

If you are found to have electrical issues on your property and did not take adequate measures to address them, you could be charged with non-compliance of Electrical Safety Standards. These penalties could amount upto £30,000.

An EICR could also determine whether your insurer will cover damages to your property caused by electrical faults. Negligent electrical safety on your part leaves you susceptible to having to pay for repairs, replacements, and legal expenses out of pocket if an accident or fire associated with electricity occurs and it goes to court.

Furthermore, It is legal requirement to supply your tenant with an EICR Copy before they move into your property.

What needs to be done before the EICR Test?

It is your responsibility as a landlord, to make sure that access is arranged to all parts of the property.

The tenants should be aware of the time and date of the electrician visit and they should be made aware that the electricity will be turned off for an hour as part of the EICR test, so they don’t cause any hindrance to the electrician during the testing.

Access inside the property should be provided to all electrical components including electrical cupboard, where the electrical meter and the property consumer unit is placed.

Make sure that none of the sockets, lights and fixed electrical fixtures in the property are hidden by any furniture.

EICR Certificate Cost

EICR cost vary, depending on the size of the property, the location of the property and on the condition of the property, EICR Cost in London alone change dramatically with location of the property.

After looking at different EICR providers website, the average calculated price is below;

The cheapest EICR you can find in London for a studio apartment is around £79.99

1. For 1-3 bedroom is £85
2. For 4 bedroom £98
3. For 5 bedroom £120

If your property is more than 5 bedroom you usually will need to request a quote.

Landlord Certificate London ltd can provide you will an EICR certificate at the cheapest price, and can carry out all sorts of remedial works required to bring the electrics of the property up to to date to pass the EICR Certificate.

Our Prices are listed below and we can guarantee you the cheapest price all over London and M25. You can either book online or you can call us to book.

Alternatively, if you have got any questions, you can email us directly at info@landlordcertificatelondon.co.uk and one of the sale executive will be in touch with you shortly.

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