EICR periodic inspection and testing to BS 7671:2018.

What's included

• Visual inspection of every accessory, fitting, connection and enclosure
• Full dead-testing: insulation resistance on every circuit, continuity of protective conductors, ring-main continuity end-to-end
• Live testing: Ze (external earth-fault loop impedance), PSCC (prospective short-circuit current), Zs on every circuit, RCD trip times and ramp tests
• Written EICR with a codified list of every observation: C1 (danger present, requires immediate action), C2 (potentially dangerous, requires improvement), C3 (improvement recommended) or FI (further investigation)
• Photographs of every C1, C2 or FI finding included in the report
• Overall assessment as Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory, following the current BS 7671 model report format
• Separate remedial quote for any C1/C2 findings, so you can commission the remedial work with me or with a second contractor as you choose

The private-rented mandate

Since 1 April 2021, every private-rented tenancy in England requires an in-date EICR. The full timeline:

• Inspection interval: maximum five years, or on tenancy change, whichever is sooner
• Copy of the EICR must be provided to a new tenant before they move in, and to any existing tenant within 28 days of the inspection
• Local authority (Canterbury City Council) can request the EICR at 7 days' notice
• Any C1 or C2 finding must be remediated within 28 days and evidenced to the tenant and (on request) to the council
• Non-compliance penalty: up to £30,000 per property

This applies to every AST (assured shorthold tenancy) let in England, including HMOs, student lets and short-hold portfolios. It does not apply to holiday lets, owner-occupied properties or lodger arrangements where the tenant shares living space with the owner.

What honest coding looks like

Codes exist for reasons, and every finding on an EICR I issue is defensible against the current IET Best Practice Guide 4. There is a well-known problem in the trade with contractors issuing an "Unsatisfactory" report to fabricate remedial work; I do not do that.

• C1 - Danger present. Exposed live parts, damaged conductors reachable by hand, wrong-polarity supply on a metal-clad accessory, missing main earth. Reasonable examples: bare cable at a light switch, no earth continuity to the CCU, wrong-polarity meter tails.
• C2 - Potentially dangerous. No fault present now, but a single-fault condition would create danger. Examples: no RCD protection on a socket circuit reasonably expected to supply outdoor equipment, missing main bond to gas, undersized main earth conductor.
• C3 - Improvement recommended. Not dangerous, but below the current best-practice standard. Examples: plastic-enclosed consumer unit in a habitable space, no Type 2 SPD, RCDs of older 30ms trip type still in service. C3 findings do not fail the report.
• FI - Further investigation. Something the tester cannot verify from the visible installation and needs invasive work to check. Example: earth resistance readings inconsistent with the visible bond arrangement - need to trace the actual bond route.

Canterbury-specific EICR patterns

St Dunstan's, Wincheap, Old Dover Road HMOs. Almost every pre-2000 board on these streets today codes at least C2 (no or missing RCD protection). Full consumer unit upgrade is the normal remedial route. Landlords with a portfolio here typically bundle three or four properties into one call and I schedule the EICRs consecutively.

Hales Place and Thanington C20th semis. Fusebox age is the dominant issue - Wylex Standard and MEM Memera boards abound. Sockets in the kitchen are often the second issue: no separate cooker circuit, or a 1970s undersized cooker circuit that has been extended with a spur.

Bridge, Chartham and CT4 period cottages. Sub-mains from meter to consumer unit that are undersized against modern PSCC, older SWA cable to outbuildings without RCBO protection at the source, and the occasional cottage with a 60A main fuse that limits everything downstream.

Frequently asked

How long does an EICR take?

Two to four hours on a standard domestic property, four to six on a larger or HMO property. The pacing item is dead-testing every circuit - power is off room-by-room during the test, so occupied properties are usually done in one continuous sweep to minimise the disruption.

What happens if the report is Unsatisfactory?

You get the coded report, plus a separate remedial quote for any C1 or C2 findings so you can shop the remedial work if you want to. When the C1/C2 findings are remediated (by me or by another contractor), a fresh EICR or a limited-scope re-inspection turns the overall assessment to Satisfactory.

Pricing

EICR inspections start from £190 for a 2- or 3-bed property (up to 10 circuits). Larger period properties, portfolios and HMOs on a shared consumer unit are quoted higher depending on circuit count. Fixed price quoted in advance after property details and scope. No day-rate creep, no surprise extras.