An EICR, an Electrical Installation Condition Report, is the electrical equivalent of an MOT. An engineer inspects and tests the fixed wiring of a property, records the condition of every circuit, and issues a report stating whether the installation is satisfactory or unsatisfactory for continued use.
Since April 2021 every private rented property in England must have a valid EICR carried out at least every five years, and a copy must be given to tenants and, on request, to the local authority. Homeowners are not legally required to have one, but most insurers and conveyancers now expect a report no older than ten years, and if you have just bought a period property in London, it is the single most useful £150–£300 you will spend.
What actually gets tested
A proper EICR is far more than a visual walk-round. The installation is isolated and dead-tested, then live-tested. On a typical two-bedroom London flat that means roughly two to three hours of work.
- Continuity of protective conductors, proving every earth is intact end to end
- Insulation resistance on every circuit, to find degraded or damaged cable
- Polarity checks on every socket, switch and lighting point
- Earth fault loop impedance (Zs), proving the breaker will actually trip in time
- RCD and RCBO trip times measured with a calibrated tester
- Consumer unit condition, main bonding to gas and water, and earthing arrangement
- Visual inspection of accessories for burning, cracking, overheating and DIY work
Understanding the codes
Every observation on the report carries a classification code. These are the only thing that decides pass or fail.
- C1, Danger present. Risk of injury right now. We make it safe before leaving site. Automatic fail.
- C2, Potentially dangerous. Not live-dangerous today but will be under fault conditions, e.g. missing earthing to a lighting circuit. Automatic fail.
- C3, Improvement recommended. Not a fail. Common on older installations, e.g. no RCD protection on a socket circuit that otherwise complies with the regs of its day.
- FI, Further investigation required. Something could not be resolved during testing. Also a fail until investigated.
A report is only 'unsatisfactory' if it contains a C1, C2 or FI. A report full of C3s is still a pass, and any electrician telling you otherwise while quoting for a full rewire deserves a second opinion.
What if you fail?
Landlords have 28 days from the report date (or sooner if the report specifies) to complete remedial works and obtain written confirmation. That confirmation must be supplied to tenants and the council within 28 days of completion.
In practice the most common London failures are straightforward: no RCD protection, missing main bonding to gas and water services, undersized or damaged cabling in kitchens, and old rewireable fuse boards. Most are fixed in a day.
“They came to do inspection and it failed, they guided me to the next steps and made sure we passed and carried out our works effortlessly.”
Typical London costs
- Studio / 1-bed flat: £120–£180
- 2–3 bed flat or house: £160–£260
- 4+ bed house or HMO: £250–£400
- Commercial fixed-wire testing: priced per distribution board and circuit count
Beware anything advertised under £90 in central London. The testing time alone makes it uneconomic, which usually means corners get cut, and a certificate that has not been earned is worthless to your insurer.
How AmpCore does it
We test every accessory, not a sample. We photograph anything we flag, explain each code in plain English on the day, and give you a costed remedial quote rather than a vague 'needs work'. Your digital certificate and schedule of results are emailed within 24 hours.
Call 07938 382020 to book an EICR anywhere in London, usually within 48 hours.
Need this doing?
Free advice, then a fixed price
Call and describe what's happening, or send a photo. We cover all London, mon–sat 8am–8pm · emergency call-outs 24/7.
