EICRs and electrical safety certificates

What it costs

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 follows the number of circuits, because every one is tested individually. Several properties done in the same visit, which landlords with a few houses close together often want, are priced together.

What gets inspected

• The consumer unit, and every circuit on it
• Earthing and main bonding to the gas and water
• A sample of sockets, switches and fittings, opened up and checked properly
• Insulation resistance and continuity tests across the wiring
• RCD and RCBO trip times
• Anything obviously dangerous, made safe on the spot

What you get back

The report, with every observation coded, plus a plain-English summary of what each code means for you and a separate written price for putting anything right. No pressure to have the remedial work done by us, and no surprise invoice for "making safe" that was never discussed.

Codes in short: C1 is danger now, C2 is potentially dangerous, C3 is a recommendation, and FI means something needs further investigation. Any C1, C2 or FI makes the report unsatisfactory. A long list of C3s on an older house is normal and does not fail it. There is a fuller explanation in what the EICR codes mean.

Landlords in Wales

Since December 2022, a rented home in Wales must have a valid electrical condition report at all times, and the contract-holder has to be given a copy within 14 days of moving in. A report lasts five years, or less if it says so. Miss it and the home counts as unfit for human habitation. The rules, in plain English, are in EICRs for landlords in Wales.

The easiest time to get one done is between tenancies, when the property is empty and the power can be off all day without anyone minding.

Buying, selling or just want to know

An EICR before you buy tells you whether you are looking at a board change or a full rewire, which is worth knowing while the price is still being negotiated. For owner-occupiers, an inspection every ten years is the usual recommendation, and sooner for an older installation.

Questions people ask

How long is the power off, and can the house be used?

Half a day for a typical house, two to three hours for a small flat. The power goes off in sections rather than all at once, so it is workable with people in, and everything is back on before we leave. For a tenanted property, give the tenant notice that circuits will be off during the day.

Will it fail over something small?

Only if it is a C1, C2 or FI. Recommendations do not fail a report, and you will be told the difference rather than sold a list.

Do I need to be there?

Someone needs to let us in and the power needs to be accessible. After that, no.