Are you a landlord? Or a resident living in a rental property? Good, you’re in the right place. We know that the world of electrical installation condition reports is probably one you’ve never come across before, but these certificates are absolutely vital to ensure your own safety, and that of your family and your tenants.
As a landlord, it’s your responsibility to ensure your property is safe and that the electrics in your home meet electrical safety standards. Meanwhile, as a tenant, it is your landlord’s responsibility to keep your home in a good state of repair and reduce the risk of injury to you and your family.
So, what are domestic EICRs and what does EICR stand for? The guide below will explain this and much more. Be assured, too, that all of the information provided is based on years of experience in the energy performance certificate and EICR world. We've worked with hundreds of clients over the last decade and have visited thousands upon thousands of homes.
A domestic Electrical Installation Condition Report – often known as EICR for short – is a regular inspection report conducted by a competent person to ensure that the electrical installations in a property are safe and that residents aren’t at increased risk of shock or fire.
It’s also known as a ‘periodic inspection’ or ‘fixed wiring check’ for domestic properties in England. Whatever it’s called, though, it is ultimately a formal document provided to landlords or homeowners by qualified electricians across the country.
Prior to issuing these reports, the registered electrician will have conducted a detailed inspection of the property to ensure that everything is as it should be, and/or flag up any issues that need to be rectified before the property can be occupied safely.
Specifically, they will be looking to ensure there are no defective electrical installations in the property, that there aren’t any overloaded sockets or circuits, that everything is earthed properly and more. All of this will be explained in more detail by your chosen contractor.
These reports are important for many reasons, but a key one is that electrics are a leading cause of accidental house fires in the UK right now, and have been for many years. Fires can not only take life, they can completely destroy property too.
We’ve already established one key reason that it is important to ensure electrics in your home are well installed – to reduce the risk of fire and injury. Thousands of fires are started across the country through faulty electrics, and these can have a wide range of devastating consequences.
Beyond this, though, it is a legal requirement for you as a landlord to have a satisfactory EICR completed on all of your rental properties. Government legislation states that you must ensure every fixed installation is checked (at least) every five years by a qualified electrician. England regulations also state that landlords must supply their tenants with a copy of the electrical installation condition report within 28 days of it being completed, and keep this on file until the next one is due.
Whilst these reports may seem complicated, they can be compared to getting a car regularly serviced. The idea is to ensure your property is regularly checked to ensure that the electrics are safe and fit for purpose. This not only ensures you meet legal requirements, but it also ensures your property stays in good condition for years to come.
You can, of course, see yourself whether you’ve got surface level wear and tear. However, so much wiring will be hidden inside walls, floors and cupboards. That’s why we highly recommend a full check from one of our experienced and dedicated inspectors who will do a full inspection.
Please note – new rules came into force in July 2020 which meant landlords had to supply a satisfactory EICR certificate to all new tenants. They then changed again in July 2021 and now mean that certificates have to be provided for all tenants – new and existing.
The cost of a domestic EICR can depend on the size of the property and how long the inspection takes. This, in turn, depends on the condition of the electrical installations in the property. A newer property may be quicker to inspect than an older one with various complications, for example.
However, we are proud to be competitive when it comes to pricing. Get in touch with us today for a quote.
How Often Are They Required?
Regulations say that you should have a new EICR certificate issued every five years. Landlords are also required to have a new inspection carried out every time they get a new tenant. We also highly recommend that new homeowners look to have an EICR completed when they buy, or at least ask for a copy of the most recent EICR certificate issued on the property so they can identify any work that may need to be done after moving in.
There are instances that we would recommend having a more frequent inspection:
Only a qualified, registered electrician or competent person should be carrying out these inspections. All our inspectors are either NIC/EIC or NAPIT registered and are fully qualified to undertake inspections. When checking the condition of electrics, they will be guided by the UK standard for electrical installations – BS 7671.
What We Offer
Here at energyperformancecertificates.co.uk we proudly offer low-cost, high-quality domestic EICR assessments from our highly qualified and professional inspectors.
Here are a few reasons we are the contractor of choice for such inspections:
We formed energyperformancecertificates.co.uk in 2010, with our core aim being to offer display energy certificates, energy performance certificates and, importantly, EICR certificates, to homeowners, landlords and businesses throughout the country.
Our workforce is made up of experienced, passionate, and qualified assessors who have been in this business a long time. We also have a friendly customer service team who will be delighted to take your call and help organise your next EICR inspection.
Get In Touch
So that’s everything you need to know about domestic electrical installation reports. The next step is for you to get one! We visit thousands of properties every month, so you can be assured that we know exactly what we’re doing, and we’d love to help you. If you’re a landlord with multiple properties, we can also help with that, and offer bulk deals for such circumstances.
You can get an instant quote at https://energyperformancecertificates.co.uk, give us a call on 0203 397 8220 for more information or email us at hello@energyperformancecertificates.co.uk.
