Electrical
An Electrical Installation Condition Report is a formal inspection of a property's fixed wiring. It records what is safe, what needs attention and what must be put right, with each observation coded.
Landlords need one to let a property legally. Businesses need one to demonstrate compliance. Homeowners get one for peace of mind or before buying.
We carry out EICRs across Kent as an NICEIC Approved Contractor, and explain the findings in plain language rather than handing over a code sheet.
01 EICR Testing
Observations are coded C1 (danger present), C2 (potentially dangerous), C3 (improvement recommended) or FI (further investigation). Only C1 and C2 make a report unsatisfactory.
We tell you which is which and what each one would take to fix, so you can make a decision rather than guess at a list.
02 EICR Testing
An EICR is two jobs done at once. One is a physical inspection of everything that can be seen and reached. The other is a set of measurements that prove the things you cannot see.
The inspection covers the consumer unit and its protective devices, the earthing arrangement and main bonding to the incoming gas and water, sockets, switches and accessories, visible cabling, and any sign of overheating, damage, wear or earlier work that was never certified.
The testing is done circuit by circuit, and every reading is written down rather than judged by eye.
03 EICR Testing
The date for the next inspection is decided during this one. Where an installation is old, heavily loaded or sitting somewhere harsh, the person carrying it out can bring that date forward — the reason for doing so is written into the report.
04 EICR Testing
Unsatisfactory sounds like a verdict on the whole property, but it is a verdict on specific observations — the rest of the installation can be entirely sound. What you are left with is a list of items to put right, separated from the ones that are only advisory.
An item marked for further investigation is not a repair. It means something needs more testing before anyone can honestly say what is wrong, and that is a separate piece of work with a separate purpose.
05 EICR Testing
A single page reading satisfactory, with nothing attached, is not a complete report. A finished EICR is a document with several parts, and it is worth knowing what should be in it.
The schedule of test results is the part worth keeping — it gives whoever inspects next a set of real numbers to compare against, so an installation that is slowly deteriorating shows up as a trend instead of a surprise.
Keep it with the property paperwork. For a landlord it is the document a tenant or a local authority asks to see; for a homeowner it is what a buyer's solicitor may want when the property is sold.
06 On site
Coutts Electrical's own photographs of their own completed installations.
Photographs are Coutts Electrical's own, of their own completed work. Captions name the system type rather than a location, because the images are not tied to a named customer or town.
07 What customers said
Real reviews from the Google profile Coutts Electrical publish on their own site, reproduced word for word.
I had a bank holiday DIY emergency and needed someone to come out and make it safe and get our power back on. Coutts answered and Max was round within a couple of hours. Really easy communication, no hassle and easy to deal with, will definitely be using them for future jobs.
Very efficient service from Max and Alex. They made completing an Electrical Condition Report and then repairs where required in or office seamless and not intrusive at all. Really great for peace of mind. Thank you
Great service and price, Max follows up with paperwork and emails. So pleasant to find a proactive supplier
Very happy with electrical work undertaken by Max of Coutts Electrical, and his team. They installed an electric radiator and new light in the kitchen. They offered advice and were professional and tidy. Would highly recommend.
A fast, efficient, effective, reliable and highly professional company, most recommended.
Excellent and fast work, highly recommended!
Max and his team did a splendid job for usThey took great care to ensure that the right solutions were found and implemented. They completed the tasks on time, dealing with unexpected issues as they arose.Max and the team were friendly, polite, punctual and helpful.Everything was left neat and tidy.As we were unable to use our home until the work was completed we were also grateful that everything was done so quickly
Max responded very quickly to my request to review an electrical fault and efficiently dealt with the issue. I’m delighted that I’ve found Max and will definitely be calling upon him for any future electrical work.
08 Questions
For part of it, yes. The dead tests can only be carried out with the installation isolated, so there are periods during the inspection when circuits are off. We agree the timing with you beforehand, which matters a great deal more in a shop, office or occupied let than it does in an empty property.
Yes. Access is needed at some point to the consumer unit and to anything wired in, so loft hatches, cupboards and anything stacked in front of the board are worth clearing before we arrive. Tell us at booking if there is medical equipment, a home office or anything else that cannot lose power without warning.
No, and the two are often confused. Portable appliance testing covers the things that plug in. A property can hold a satisfactory EICR and still have a faulty kettle or extension lead, and the two are recorded on separate documents.
10 From the blog
If you are a private landlord, your properties will need a regular electrical inspection completed by a professional to verify the safety of your property.
11 Start here
Tell us your postcode and roughly what you are after. We come out, survey it properly, and put a written price in front of you — with the VAT position confirmed on it.
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