Since 2021, private landlords in England have had to hold a valid Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) for every rented property, renewed at least every five years, with a copy given to tenants within 28 days and to the local authority within seven days if they ask. Letting agents in Andover, Tidworth and Salisbury now ask for it as a matter of routine, and a property can’t be let without one.
An EICR is a full inspection and test of the fixed wiring: the consumer unit, the circuits, sockets, switches, lighting, the earthing and bonding. It doesn’t cover appliances, which is a separate PAT test. The electrician records any observations against one of four codes. C1 means danger present, and it has to be made safe on the day. C2 means potentially dangerous and needs fixing within 28 days. C3 means improvement recommended but not required. FI means further investigation is needed before a verdict can be given. Any C1, C2 or FI makes the report unsatisfactory.
The most common reasons we see reports fail around Andover are consumer units with no RCD protection, missing or undersized earth bonding to gas and water pipes, damaged accessories, and outdoor sockets and lighting with water inside them. None of these are expensive to put right individually, but a 1970s house that’s never been touched can accumulate several.
Practical advice: book the inspection well before a tenancy starts or renews, so there’s time for remedial work; ask for the remedial quote alongside the report so you can see the full cost in one go; and keep the certificate with the gas safety record and EPC, because you’ll be asked for all three at once. If the property has a fuse board with rewirable fuses, budget for a consumer unit replacement, since it will almost certainly be coded.
T2 Electrics & Plumbing carry out EICRs for landlords and letting agents across Hampshire, Wiltshire and west Berkshire, quote any remedial work on the same visit, and issue the updated certificate once it’s done.