EICR – Electrical Inspections

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What is an EICR report?

An electrical installation condition report is required as all electrical installations deteriorate over time. It is recommended that they should be inspected and tested every “3 to 5 years”. Such electrical safety checks are commonly known as ‘periodic inspections’ or ‘electrical installation condition reports’.

On your EICR, electrical certificate or electrical installation condition report, it will notify you whether your electrical installation is “satisfactory” or “unsatisfactory”, the outcome depends on the installation and can be explained if you require more information after receiving the certificate.

Riviera Electrical Based in Torquay provide electrical safety certificates of all kinds. We work with landlords in torqauy and the surrounding areas . Riviera Electrical can electrically test both domestic and commercial properties InTorquay , Torbay And The surrounding areas

We aim to give you a 5 star service for all types of electrical Safety certificates and testing. We offer full range of electrical compliance services to ensure that your property is always within the correct scope of works, So that you should not worry about the after-effects of not having the correct paperwork.

With the help of an EICR (Electrical installation condition report), you can find out

If any electrical circuits or equipment is overloaded.
Any potential electric shock risks and fire hazards.
Identify defective electrical work.
Highlight any lack of earthing or bonding.
Testing is also carried out on wiring and fixed electrical items to ensure that they are safe.
A schedule of circuits can also be provided which can be a great asset to a property.

What are the types of EICR reports?

1. Visual condition report

This does not include testing and is only suitable if the installation has been tested recently.

2. Periodic inspection reports

This is what we would normally recommend, as it tests the installation and would find any hidden damage.

What is the primary purpose of an EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report)?

There are many reasons why a householder might request an EICR, and generally they are highly recommended where proof may be required to show an electrical installation is safe age of the installation (the older the installation is, the more often an EICR has to be carried out).

Type of property – If the property has a swimming pool, the recommended interval between an EICR is one year. However, only parts of the installation relating to the swimming pool would need to be assessed. Environmental Conditions.

Misuse of the installation such as Change in usage of the domestic premises. This could be a change of occupancy in rental properties, or the property being prepared to be sold, or the property being purchased. It is highly recommended that an EICR is carried out with each alteration of occupancy in rental properties to confirm the property remains electrically safe. Equally, requesting an EICR on a property that is being purchased is the best way to find out if work needs to be carried out on the electrical system.
Any concerns the householder has about the condition of their electrical installation.

How often should an EICR report be performed

The IEE recommend the following maximum periods of time between inspections and testing:

Domestic Installations – 10 years or change of occupancy
Rental Properties – every 5 Years change of occupancy
Commercial Installations – 5 years or change of occupancy
Industrial Installations – 3 years o Residential accommodation – 5 years or change of occupancy
Offices, shops & laboratories – 5 years

What are To-Do checklists?

Here is a list of things “we recommend” you do before a electrician attends.

It will make sure you are prepared for your EICR certificate or an electrical inspection & test:

Ensure the electrician has full access to the consumer unit; any items must be removed prior to the test commencing. This might otherwise cause delays, & lead to extra charges.

A rough estimation of height of the consumer unit / Fuse Board is preferred. This should come from the client to determine the size of ladders. This is for access purposes of the electrical installation.
Ensure the installation is live upon arrival of the electrician. E.g. there is reading on the electric meter; this is to ensure the system is live.

It is recommended that you visually inspect your property. This is to provide information on any broken fixtures and fittings. This information should be passed to the “electrician” upon arrival.
All equipment should be unplugged before the test. For E.g.: TV’s, Fridge Freezers and Washing Machines.
If possible, ensure the consumer has the correct labels to identify the circuits. This can lead to further costs, or a full EICR certificate not being able to be presented.
A full test may not be carried out if various problems, recommendations or dangers are present upon the early stages of the visual inspection. This is so that we can get the installation up to a recommended standard before completing the EICR report and inspection.
Provide any previous EICR reports or periodic inspection reports. We have an idea about the history of the electrical installation with this.
Having Many years Electrical Testing experience, means that a lot of DIY and bad workmanship has been seen in Torbay and other areas in this time. Unfortunately this is getting worse in Torquay and surrounding areas rather than better.

As a trusted, reliable Electrician in Torquay, Riviera Electrical will carry out your Electrical Safety Checks, also known commonly as Landlord Electrical Safety Inspections or (the official terminology) Electrical Installation Condition Reports (EICRs).

These are for Domestic, Commercial or Industrial premises. (Some still refer to the old terminology Periodic Inspection Report!). This is a certificate for Electrical safety purposes. For home owners, tenants, hotels and landlords alike. The report gives peace of mind, or (if unsatisfactory) will give you a crystal clear idea of what you need to do to get your wiring up to scratch (whether it is something dangerous, or just a recommendation based on the recent changes in regulations). The importance is classed within a relevant code.

While it is not yet a legal requirement to have a Landlords Electrical Safety Certificate (or EICR), it comes down to a case of if anything happens, proving that you have done everything ‘reasonably practicable’ (as stated in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1971) to ensure that risks are lowered for tenants, occupiers, etc. In addition, many Estate Agents, Solicitors and Insurance Companies insist on this being done. As a Landlord in Torbay, you know that safety is important, and also you have peace of mind that you are covered, should any issues arise.

So it is not surprising that Riviera Electrical does a very detailed Electrical Safety Check to find all faults possible, so that you can sleep safely at night. The Electrical Inspection Report takes an average of 1-3 hours to do correctly (so beware if yours was done in an hour!), and covers the following aspects (amongst others):

But Are All Landlord Electrical Certificates Created Equally?

The simple answer to this is NO.

As a fully qualified electrician working in Torbay we carry out a number of electrical checks to landlords and home owners. These checks are becoming increasingly popular and indeed they will become ‘mandatory’ within the rental sector in England and Wales as they already are in scotland. This means it will follow on from EPC’s becoming a legal requirement. And therefore without a current compliant safety certificate (EICR / Pereodic inspection report ) you
will not be allowed to carry on renting your property. These reports are expected to last 5 years.

Fines For Non Compliance Are Expected To Be Substantial

It is understood that substantial penalties are likely to be introduced to those Landlords that ignore the new rules and regulations. On top of these new fines landlords may face prosecution in a magistrate’s court or even criminal prosecution.

It’s important to remember that it’s not just the ‘rogue landlords’ who could fall foul and fail to comply with the new laws. A lot of our customers in Torbay and Devon are ‘Accidental Landlords’, that is, often where individuals end up renting a previous marital/family home or are left a property and see renting it out as a good financial move (which it is). However you end up renting a property, it will need to comply with various rules and regulations, not just electrical ones. Expert advice is recommended if you feel you need further assistance.

Who Can Carry Out These Tests?

There has long been discussions, even within the electrical industry of who can carry out these inspections. ‘Competent Person’ is the watch word and is to be replaced with ‘electrically trained’. Although that is still open to interpretation. Personally I would class an electrician with up to date qualifications, experience in electrical testing and relevant insurances as a person who is capable to test an installation.

Now Back To My Original Question, Are All Landlord Electrical Certificates Created Equally?

The answer is still NO

The reason behind this is that there are in fact two types of an Electrical check/test/inspection/certificate call it what you will.

There is a ‘Visual Inspection’. Which is exactly as it sounds, and does what is says on the tin!

These checks would normally take no longer than an half an hr in a domestic property and they will cover only a handful of checks and are designed for ‘inbetween’ tenants and play an important part in keeping tenants and your property safe. Unfortunately some electricians market these as a cheaper alternative to a full test and therefore can provide these substantially cheaper than a full test which is an attractive option to most ‘cash strapped landlords’ however they are not suitable for the rental market.

What is required is an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR). This is a 8 -10 page document and can cover over 100 individual points within the electrical system. Testing is carried out at the fuse board/consumer unit and at the outlets and accessories across the property. The report would typically come with a full list of recommendations and observations.

Faults and observation are typically coded from C1 to C3. C1 being ‘Danger Present, C2 ‘Potentially Dangerous’ & C3 ‘Improvement Recommended’. A report with C1 or C2’s present would be classed as ‘UNSATISFACTORY’.
. If the report comes back with C1’s & C2’s these would have to be rectified before a ‘SATISFACTORY’ report could be issued. Where a report with C3’s are present, this would enable a ‘SATISFACTORY’ outcome.

As you might imagine the ‘Full EICR’ would take longer to carry out and therefore would cost more to produce. Please don’t be put off by the slightly higher price when it comes to electrical safety. When you’re potentially standing in front of £1,000 a day barrister trying to answer questions and your reply is ‘I didn’t know or I was trying to save money’ you may probably regret going down the cheaper route.

At Riviera Electrical in torquay all of our EICR’s are produced digitally usually the same day of the inspection if the client requests it and can be easily sent & re-sent if you lose it (it often happens) and are securely stored.

A copy of the report should be left in the property so your tenants are aware of the condition of the electrical system.

We carry dozens of these tests out a month to the landlord rental industry and are confident that each time we leave a customer’s property following any remedial work that may need addressing we leave it in a significantly safer position.