EICRs coded the way BS 7671 actually intends, not the way that pads a remedial quote.

What an EICR actually is

An Electrical Installation Condition Report is a formal inspection and test of the fixed electrical installation against BS 7671, with each observation coded and a pass or fail overall. It is not a survey, not a valuation, and not a rewire quote. It tells you what is safe now, what is unsafe now, and what would be improved. Landlords letting a property in England and Wales must have a valid EICR under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (PRS) Regulations, renewed at least every five years, or sooner if the report requires it.

What is included

• Visual inspection of the consumer unit, main switch, main earth, bonding, accessories and visible cabling
• Dead testing on every accessible circuit: insulation resistance at 500V, continuity, polarity
• Live testing: earth-fault-loop impedance at the origin and at socket outlets on a sample basis, RCD trip time verified at 1x and 5x
• Full written report with each observation coded C1, C2, C3 or FI and a photograph attached to each finding
• Overall satisfactory or unsatisfactory determination, and a fixed-price quote to remediate any C1 or C2 the same week
• Certificate lodged and copies emailed for you to forward to your letting agent or Thanet DC if requested

What the codes actually mean

• C1 - Danger present. Risk of injury. Immediate action required, usually made safe before the inspector leaves the property. Examples: exposed live conductors at a broken socket, missing enclosure on a consumer unit.
• C2 - Potentially dangerous. Urgent remedial action required. The installation is unsatisfactory until fixed. Examples: no RCD protection on socket circuits used to feed portable equipment outdoors, damaged main earth, missing bonding to gas or water.
• C3 - Improvement recommended. Does not make the report unsatisfactory. Examples: old but functioning consumer unit with no SPD, no RCD protection but circuits otherwise safe, non-standard cable colours.
• FI - Further investigation. Something the inspector could not fully test on the day, usually inaccessible cabling. Requires follow-up, not automatic fail.

Broadstairs landlord specifics

Under the PRS regs a new tenancy needs a valid EICR before move-in and the same report is renewed at least every five years. A holiday let is not exempt; every tenancy that meets the assured shorthold definition is caught. For the seafront short-let market around Louisa Bay and Viking Bay, that means most listings need one. We book landlord jobs in slots that fit changeover days (usually Fridays and Mondays) and can turn a same-day pass-with-C3s report round for your letting agent by end of week.

What normally comes back as C2 on Broadstairs stock

• Wire-fuse or split-load boards with no RCD on sockets used for garden or seafront outdoor extension leads
• Bathroom pull-cords or shaver sockets outside the current zone rules on Victorian conversions
• Undersized or missing main earth bond on the incoming gas at properties where the meter was moved without the bond being reinstated
• Green oxide on external metalwork within a few streets of the bays, where salt corrosion has broken the earth continuity to an outbuilding or gate motor

How the inspection runs

Two to four hours on site for a typical 3-bed. Power is off in one-hour chunks per test window; freezers stay on wherever possible. We photograph the board, the meter cutout, every accessible junction, and every observation. The written report follows within 48 hours, with a fixed-price quote for anything coded C1 or C2. C3 items are listed for information; you choose whether to close them out at the same visit as the remedial, at the next EICR cycle, or leave them.

Indicative pricing

• £180 to £220 - 1 or 2-bed flat or maisonette, single consumer unit
• £220 to £260 - typical 3-bed house
• £260 to £300 - 4-bed or larger, or property with outbuildings, garden lights and an EV charger to include

Remedials are quoted fixed once the report is issued. A board upgrade to close out a C2 is typically £550 to £950, see the fusebox & consumer units page.

Compliance in short

EICRs are issued under BS 7671:2018 Amendment 2:2022. For rented properties the report satisfies the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 and equivalents. Reports are kept on file for at least six years and re-issued to letting agents on request at no charge.