Ryan, RM Electrical NAPIT registered electrician, South Wales
An EICR starts from £175 + VAT (£210 inc VAT). It is priced on how many circuits there are to test rather than on the size of the house as such, though the two usually go together. A one or two bed flat is half a day. A typical three bed house is most of a day. A four or five bed house, or anything with outbuildings, a garage supply or a lot of added circuits, is a full day and sometimes two.
An EICR is an Electrical Installation Condition Report: a full inspection and test of the wiring in a property, written up as a report that says whether it is safe to carry on using.
| Property | Price |
|---|---|
| Flat or maisonette, one or two bedrooms | Usually half a day |
| House, up to three bedrooms | Usually most of a day |
| House, four bedrooms or more | A full day, sometimes two |
The price mostly depends on the number of circuits, which follows the size of the property. A one bed flat has far fewer circuits than a five bed house, and each one has to be tested.
What decides the price
- Number of circuits. Every circuit is tested individually, so this is the biggest factor.
- Access. Boards in awkward cupboards, sockets behind fitted furniture and lofts with no boards all add time.
- Whether the property is occupied. Testing means switching circuits off. Doing that around tenants or a working household takes a little longer.
What the inspection covers
- The consumer unit and every circuit on it
- Earthing and bonding to the gas and water pipes
- A sample of sockets, switches and light fittings, opened up and checked
- Insulation and continuity tests on the wiring
- RCD tests, to check the protection trips fast enough
How long it takes
A typical house takes half a day. A small flat can be two to three hours. The power is off in parts of the property during testing.
What if it fails?
An EICR is either satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Anything coded C1, C2 or FI makes it unsatisfactory. You get the report with every item listed, and a written price to put each one right. See what the EICR codes mean.
Landlords
In Wales, rented homes must have a valid EICR at all times, renewed at least every five years. See EICRs for landlords in Wales.
No prices on this page are guesses, because there are none. Ryan prices every job himself, in writing, after seeing it.