Reports and certificates
EICR &
Landlord Testing
Durham
Inspection and testing of everything fixed in the building, a report you can act on, and remedials priced separately so the two decisions stay apart.
What an EICR actually is
An Electrical Installation Condition Report is an inspection and test of the fixed wiring in a property — the consumer unit, the circuits buried in the walls, the accessories, the lighting points, and the earthing and bonding arrangements holding it all together. It is not a look at your appliances and it is not a visual once-over.
What comes out is a report marked satisfactory or unsatisfactory, with any defects given a code according to how serious they are. C1 means danger present and requires immediate action. C2 means potentially dangerous and requires remedial work. C3 is an improvement recommendation and does not on its own make a report unsatisfactory. FI means further investigation is required.
Why the codes matter more than the verdict
Plenty of landlords receive an unsatisfactory report, panic, and pay for everything on it. Others receive a satisfactory one with six C3s and assume there is nothing to think about. Neither is right. What matters is understanding what each code is actually describing and making an informed decision about it.
So we go through the report with you in plain English rather than emailing a PDF and leaving you to it. You will know which items are legally forcing your hand, which are sensible to do while we are there, and which can reasonably wait. Remedial work is quoted separately so you are never in a position where the person finding the faults is the only one who can price fixing them.
Student lets and HMOs in Durham
The city runs on rented housing and the rules are not optional. Every private rented property in England needs a satisfactory EICR renewed at least every five years, with a copy issued to tenants within 28 days and to the council within seven days of any request. Licensed HMOs get looked at as part of the licensing process too.
The practical problem is never the regulations, it is access. Term dates are tight and changeover weeks are chaos. We book inspections and remedials into vacation gaps and changeover windows, and for portfolios we will build a run that works through several properties in sequence rather than dragging it out over months.
What the inspection covers
- Consumer unit and protective devices
- Earthing and main bonding arrangements
- Insulation resistance on every circuit
- Earth loop impedance and prospective fault current
- RCD operation and trip times
- Accessories, fittings and visible cabling
- Coded report with plain-English explanation
- Remedial work quoted separately and clearly
How it runs
What actually happens
Book around access
Tell us the let pattern and term dates. We fit inspections into changeover weeks and vacation gaps rather than expecting tenants to work round us.
Inspect and test
Every circuit tested with instruments and the results recorded. Typically a few hours for an average house, longer for larger or older property.
Go through it
The report is explained code by code. You find out what is forcing your hand, what is sensible, and what can wait.
Remedials and reissue
Any work you decide to proceed with is quoted separately, carried out, and the report reissued as satisfactory.
Recent projects
Work of this kind
Photographed on site as each one finished.
FAQs
Questions on this specifically
How often does a rented property need one?
At least every five years, or sooner if the previous report specified a shorter interval. A copy goes to existing tenants within 28 days, to new tenants before they move in, and to the council within seven days if they ask. Change of tenancy does not on its own restart the clock.
How long does an inspection take?
An average two or three bedroom house is usually a few hours. Bigger properties, older installations and anything with a lot of circuits take longer. Multi-occupancy lets with several consumer units can be most of a day, which is worth knowing when you are arranging access.
My report came back unsatisfactory — what now?
It means at least one C1, C2 or FI was recorded. Those need addressing before it can be reissued as satisfactory, and for a rented property you have 28 days from receipt unless the report specifies less. We will tell you exactly which items are driving it and what each will cost to put right.
Can I use my own contractor for the remedials?
Of course, and we will give you a report clear enough for somebody else to work from. Quoting the remedial work separately is deliberate for exactly that reason — you should never be in a position where the only person who can price the fix is the person who found the fault.
Do you do PAT testing at the same time?
Yes, and for a furnished let it makes sense to do both in one visit. Appliance testing covers the portable items you supply — kettles, microwaves, lamps, white goods — which the EICR does not touch. It is quick when we are already on site.
Also worth a look
Other things we do
Get in touch
Get a price for this
Phone if it is urgent. Otherwise fill this in with as much detail as you can and we will come back with a figure or a date.
Call the team0191 934 0118- CoveringDurham City and the county around it — Chester-le-Street, Consett, Stanley, Lanchester, Bowburn, Coxhoe, Peterlee, Easington, Seaham and the villages between.
- HomesCity terraces, colliery-village housing, inter-war semis and rural property. Nothing too small, nothing too big.
- Student letsEICRs, HMO certification and remedial work, scheduled around term dates and changeover weeks.
- UrgentUse the phone for anything that cannot wait. We can set off and talk you through isolating it at the same time.
Send the details
The more you put here, the tighter the figure we can come back with.
Electrician Done Right
Certificate due?
Tell us the property type and let pattern and we will fit it into a window that works.