Does an EICR include portable appliances?

No. The report covers the fixed installation only: the consumer unit, the cables in the walls and ceilings, the sockets, switches and light fittings, and the earthing and bonding. Kettles, washing machines and anything else with a plug are covered by a separate portable appliance test. The supplier's equipment before the meter is outside the report as well and belongs to the network operator.

What happens if my EICR is unsatisfactory?

You receive a list of coded observations rather than a verdict on the house. Any C1 is made safe or isolated before we leave. C2 and FI items need remedial work, which we quote separately in writing with no obligation, and you are welcome to get another price. Once the work is done we issue a certificate and, where appropriate, a fresh satisfactory report. Landlords have twenty-eight days.

What an EICR covers | Prime Fix 24/7

Q: How often does a homeowner need an EICR?

There is no legal requirement for owner-occupiers, but we recommend one every ten years, when buying a property, and after a flood or major building work. Lenders and insurers increasingly ask for one on older houses. It is planned work priced as a fixed fee by property size; our EICR reports page lists what we need from you to book, mainly access to every room and the consumer unit.

Key takeaways

An EICR tests the fixed wiring: consumer unit, cables, sockets, switches, earthing and bonding.
C1 and C2 mean unsafe or potentially unsafe; C3 is advice only; FI needs investigating.
Any C1, C2 or FI makes the report unsatisfactory; C3s alone are satisfactory.
Landlords in England need a satisfactory report for every tenancy, renewed at least every five years.
Remedial work on an unsatisfactory rented property must be done within twenty-eight days.

An Electrical Installation Condition Report, or EICR, is the document that tells you whether the fixed wiring in a property is safe to keep using. It is a legal requirement for landlords in England and a sensible thing for any homeowner to have done periodically, particularly when buying an older house. This guide explains what we actually do during one and what the result means.

What is inspected

An EICR covers the fixed installation: the consumer unit, the cables in the walls and ceilings, the sockets, switches, light fittings and the earthing and bonding. It does not cover portable appliances, which is a separate test, and it does not cover the supplier's equipment before the meter.

We start with a visual inspection of the consumer unit and a sample of accessories around the property, looking for damage, signs of overheating, incorrect fusing, missing covers, and anything that has clearly been added by someone who should not have. Then we test. With the power off, we measure the continuity of the earth conductors and the insulation resistance of each circuit, which tells us whether cables have degraded. With the power on, we test the earth fault loop impedance, which confirms the protective devices will operate in time, and we test every RCD to check it trips within its rated time.

A full inspection of a three-bedroom house takes us most of a day, and the power will be off for parts of it.

Reading the report

Every observation is given a code. C1 means danger present, and we will make it safe before we leave, or isolate it if we cannot. C2 means potentially dangerous, and needs remedial work promptly. C3 means improvement recommended, and does not affect the result. FI means further investigation is required before we can classify the observation.

The report as a whole is either satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Any C1, C2 or FI makes it unsatisfactory. A report with only C3 observations is satisfactory; a property with older but sound wiring will often come out that way.

We write our observations in plain English alongside the codes, and we photograph anything significant. A report should be something you can understand, not just file.

Who needs one and how often

Private landlords in England must have a satisfactory EICR in place for every tenancy, renewed at least every five years, and must give a copy to tenants and, on request, to the council. Where the report is unsatisfactory, remedial work must be completed within twenty-eight days and written confirmation supplied. Our landlords page covers this alongside gas safety.

Homeowners are not legally required to have one, but we recommend it every ten years, on buying a property, and after any flood or major building work. Mortgage lenders and insurers increasingly ask for one on older houses. Commercial premises have their own requirements, typically every five years, and more frequently for some environments.

What happens after an unsatisfactory report

An unsatisfactory result is not a disaster. It is a list of things to fix. The most common C2 items we find in Manchester housing are a consumer unit with no RCD protection, missing or inadequate main bonding to gas and water pipes, damaged accessories, and circuits with no earth. Some of these are an hour's work; a consumer unit replacement is a day.

We quote the remedial work separately and in writing, with no obligation, and when it is done we issue a certificate for the work and, where appropriate, a fresh satisfactory report. We do not inflate the observations to generate work, and we are happy for you to get another quote for anything we find.

Booking one

Our EICR reports page has what we need from you to book, which is mainly access to every room and to the consumer unit, and roughly how long we will need. Inspections are planned work and priced as a fixed fee by property size; the pricing page explains how planned work is quoted. If you have found something during your own look round that worries you, a burning smell, a hot socket, a consumer unit that buzzes, do not wait for the inspection. Call us on 07343 065023 and we will attend as an emergency electrician instead.

When to stop

Stop and call if you notice a burning smell, a hot socket or a buzzing consumer unit; do not wait for the inspection.

Call 07343 065023