Home › EICRs
EICRs in Test Electrical, explained in plain English
An EICR is a health check on the fixed wiring of a property. We test it, we write it up, and we tell you exactly what needs doing. Nothing is dressed up to sell you work.
What an EICR actually is
EICR stands for Electrical Installation Condition Report. It covers the fixed parts of the electrical system: the fuseboard, the cables buried in the walls, the sockets, the switches, the light fittings and the earthing. It does not cover your kettle, your telly or anything else you plug in.
We do two kinds of check. First we look, with the power off, at the parts we can see and reach. Then we test with instruments, circuit by circuit, to measure things the eye cannot judge. That is how we find a cable that is damaged inside a wall or an earth connection that stopped doing its job years ago.
At the end you get a written report with one of two verdicts: satisfactory or unsatisfactory. There is no grade in between.
Who needs one
- Landlords and letting agents. It is a legal duty for private rented homes in England. See the rules below.
- Home owners. Not compulsory, but sensible, especially in an older property or one you have just taken on.
- People selling or buying. A report answers the electrical question in a sale before it becomes a delay.
- Anyone with a board that keeps tripping. A repeated trip is the system telling you something. An EICR finds out what.
What happens on the day, step by step
We arrive and look round
We find the fuseboard, the meter and the main earth. We check how the property is laid out and how many circuits there are.
Power off, circuit by circuit
We isolate one circuit at a time and test it. The whole property is not dead all day, but the power does come and go.
Live testing
With the power back on we check the safety devices actually cut out, and cut out fast enough to protect a person.
Report and next steps
We write up every result, give the verdict, and email you the PDF. Any faults come with a written price to fix them.
What the codes mean
Every fault we find gets a code. The codes look like jargon, so here they are in ordinary words.
Danger present
Someone could get a shock or a burn now. We make it safe before we leave, then tell you what we did.
Potentially dangerous
Not dangerous this second, but it will be if something else goes wrong. This needs putting right.
Improvement advised
Not a fail. Something that was fine under older rules and would be better brought up to date.
Further investigation
Something did not add up and needs a closer look before we can judge it. This one does fail the report.
C1, C2 or FI makes the report unsatisfactory
A C3 on its own does not. So a report can be satisfactory and still list a few C3 items you may want to sort out one day. We will always tell you which is which, rather than lumping them together to make the job look bigger.
The legal duty if you let a property
The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 apply to most private tenancies. Two requirements matter most.
- The fixed electrical installation must be inspected and tested at least every 5 years. If the report asks for a shorter interval, that shorter interval applies.
- You must give the tenant a copy of the report within 28 days of the inspection. A new tenant gets a copy before they move in.
If the report is unsatisfactory, the faults have to be put right. Keep the written confirmation that the work was done, because that is what proves you met the duty.
Common questions about EICRs
Does the tenant need to be in?
Someone needs to let us in and we need access to every room, the loft hatch and the fuseboard. It does not have to be the tenant. An agent, a key safe or a neighbour with a key all work, as long as we can reach the whole property.
Will you find faults just to sell me work?
No. Every code we give has to stand up in writing, and you can take our report to any other electrician. We tell you plainly which items are a genuine fail and which are advisory, and we quote the repairs separately so you can compare.
What if it fails?
We list each fault, code it, and price the repair in writing. Most of what we find is small: a loose connection, a missing earth link, a damaged socket. Once the work is done you have a satisfactory position and the paperwork to prove it.
Do I need one every year?
No. For a rented home in England the interval is at least every 5 years, unless the report itself sets a shorter one. For your own home there is no legal interval, so it is a judgement call based on the age of the wiring.
Book an EICR in Test Electrical
Give us the address and a rough idea of the size of the property. We come back with a fixed price in writing, from £160.