An EICR is not legally required when buying a house — but for any property over 25 years old, it is one of the most valuable pieces of due diligence you can commission. This guide explains what an EICR costs, what it reveals, how to interpret C1 and C2 observations, and how to use the findings to negotiate.
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Written and reviewed by Andrew Moore, founder of Elec-Mate, against BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, IET Guidance Note 3 and the IET On-Site Guide.
The short answer
It is an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) commissioned by a buyer before exchange of contracts. A qualified electrician inspects and tests the fixed wiring, consumer unit, earthing and bonding, then reports the condition as Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. It typically costs £150 to £400 and takes 2 to 6 hours on site.
It is not legally required and a standard homebuyer’s survey does not include it. The overall assessment comes back Unsatisfactory if any C1 (danger present) or C2 (potentially dangerous) observation is recorded — either of which is quotable, and therefore negotiable.
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01 · Buyer's Guide
An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) is not a legal requirement for a residential property sale. Unlike a Gas Safety Record, which must be provided for rented properties, there is no obligation on a vendor to commission or provide an EICR to a buyer. A standard homebuyer's survey does not test the electrics either, so without a separate EICR you have no reliable information about the condition of the wiring.
For most properties, commissioning an EICR before exchange of contracts is strongly recommended. The cost — typically £150 to £400 — is modest relative to the protection it provides. An EICR matters most in four situations.
The property is over 25 years old
Installations from before the year 2000 commonly lack RCD protection on socket circuits. Regulation 411.3.3 of BS 7671, as revised at Amendment 4, requires RCD protection for socket-outlets rated up to 32 A, and the risk-assessment exception that allows it to be omitted is expressly not available for dwellings.
The consumer unit is a rewirable fuse board
Rewirable ceramic fuse holders without MCBs or RCDs indicate the installation has not been significantly updated since at least the 1970s.
The vendor cannot produce a recent EICR
If the vendor has no EICR from the past five years, there is no documentary evidence of the installation's condition — and no previous report for an inspector to work from.
You can see signs of DIY work or old wiring at viewing
Dark rubber-insulated cables, fabric-braided wiring, or non-standard fittings are all reasons to commission an inspection.
Even for newer properties, an EICR can uncover defects from poor installation work. It is one of the most cost-effective due diligence steps available to a property buyer.
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02 · Buyer's Guide
The current edition of the Wiring Regulations is BS 7671:2018+A4:2026. The 18th Edition was published in 2018 and has been amended four times — Amendment 1:2020, Amendment 2:2022, Amendment 3:2024 and Amendment 4:2026. Amendment 4 was issued on 15 April 2026; the previous edition remains current but is withdrawn on 15 October 2026.
Properties wired before 2000 were designed to earlier standards and will not match today's requirements in several respects. That is expected, and BS 7671 says so directly: an existing installation that does not comply with the current edition in every respect is not, for that reason alone, unsafe for continued use or in need of upgrading. What follows are the four areas an inspector will look at hardest in an older home.
No RCD protection on socket circuits
Required under Regulation 411.3.3 for socket-outlets rated up to 32 A. Properties wired before the 16th Edition (1991) commonly have no RCD protection at all. This is one of the most common C2 observations in older properties.
No supplementary bonding in bathrooms
Regulation 701.415.2 requires supplementary protective equipotential bonding in a room containing a bath or shower. It may be omitted only where all three of the following are met: every final circuit in the room meets the disconnection times of Regulation 411.3.2, every final circuit has additional protection by RCD to Regulation 415.1.1, and all extraneous-conductive-parts in the room are effectively connected to the main protective bonding. A property with no RCDs fails the second condition, so the bonding has to be there.
Original wiring at end of life
PVC-insulated cable has a design life of roughly 25 to 40 years, so wiring from the 1980s and early 1990s is approaching or past that range. Rubber-insulated wiring from the 1960s and earlier is well beyond its serviceable life and is a common trigger for a full rewire.
Combustible consumer unit enclosure
Regulation 421.1.201 requires consumer units in domestic premises to comply with BS EN 61439-3 and either have an enclosure of non-combustible material or be enclosed in one — ferrous metal such as steel being the example the standard gives. This came in with BS 7671:2008+A3:2015, so white plastic consumer units predating it are widespread and are typically recorded as C3, improvement recommended.
New at Amendment 4
Amendment 4, issued in April 2026, introduced Regulation 411.3.4: within domestic (household) premises, additional protection by an RCD with a rated residual operating current not exceeding 30 mA shall be provided for AC final circuits supplying luminaires. Virtually every home wired before 2026 lacks it.
BS 7671 is not applied retrospectively, so its absence in an existing installation does not automatically mean danger. An inspector assesses the installation against the current edition and uses professional judgement: C1 or C2 where a condition is dangerous or potentially dangerous, and C3 where the item is simply an improvement. Unprotected lighting on its own would usually sit at C3. Either way, it is a real cost to factor into a post-purchase upgrade plan.
03 · Buyer's Guide
The cost of an EICR commissioned during a house purchase depends primarily on the size of the property — really, the number of circuits — and on your location. These are typical 2026 prices across the UK.
| Property | Typical fee | Time on site | Circuits |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-bedroom flat | £150 – £200 | 2 – 3 hours | 3 – 5 |
| Two-bedroom property | £175 – £275 | 3 – 4 hours | 5 – 8 |
| Three-bedroom house | £250 – £400 | 3 – 5 hours | 8 – 12 |
| Four-bedroom house | £350 – £550 | 4 – 6 hours | 10 – 16 |
London and the South East: add 20 to 30 per cent to the figures above. Inner London sits at the top of these ranges or beyond, on higher labour rates, parking and congestion charges.
The EICR fee is not refundable if you withdraw from the purchase, but it is a sound investment. A single C2 observation can justify a price reduction many times the cost of the inspection.
04 · Buyer's Guide
An EICR is a comprehensive assessment of the fixed electrical installation. Regulation 651.2 of BS 7671 sets what a periodic inspection is for: the safety of people against electric shock and burns, protection against fire and heat from an installation defect, confirmation that protective devices are correctly rated and set, confirmation that the installation is not damaged or deteriorated so as to impair safety, and the identification of defects and non-compliances that may give rise to danger. In practice the inspector carries out a visual inspection supported by tests.
Consumer unit and protective devices
Condition, age, type of protection (MCBs, RCDs, RCBOs) and compliance with current standards.
Earthing and bonding
Main earthing terminal, and main protective bonding to gas, water and other incoming metallic services. Regulation 544.1.2 requires that connection to be made as near as practicable to the point of entry of the service into the premises, and within 600 mm of the meter outlet union where that is practicable — a frequently missed detail in older homes.
Circuit testing
Continuity of protective conductors, insulation resistance, polarity, earth fault loop impedance (Ze and Zs), prospective fault current and RCD operation. These tests reveal the condition of hidden wiring that cannot be assessed by eye.
Arc fault detection devices
Regulation 421.1.7 was redrafted at Amendment 4. AFDDs conforming to BS EN 62606 are now required on single-phase AC final circuits supplying socket-outlets rated up to 32 A in high rise residential buildings, houses in multiple occupation, purpose-built student accommodation and care homes. For all other premises — an ordinary house or flat included — their use is recommended, not required. Their absence in a standard domestic property is therefore a C3 matter at most, but retrofitting them alongside a consumer unit replacement is a real cost worth knowing about.
Sockets, switches and accessories
Condition and compliance, including accessory positions in rooms containing a bath or shower, where BS 7671 Part 7 places zone restrictions.
Special locations
Bathrooms, garages, outbuildings and garden installations each carry specific requirements under BS 7671 Part 7 that the inspector will check.
The supply intake is looked at, not tested. The model schedule of inspections in BS 7671 lists the service cable, service head, earthing arrangements, supplier's meter tails and metering equipment under external condition of intake equipment — visual inspection only. Those items belong to the distributor and the energy supplier, not to you, so an inspector who finds a problem there reports it to the person who ordered the work rather than fixing it.
05 · Buyer's Guide
Observations are classified using the codes explained in Table 3.5 of IET Guidance Note 3. Only two of the four codes change the outcome of the report.
| Code | Meaning | Action | Effect on the report |
|---|---|---|---|
| C1 | Danger present. Risk of injury | Immediate remedial action | Unsatisfactory |
| C2 | Potentially dangerous | Urgent remedial action | Unsatisfactory |
| C3 | Improvement recommended | Advisory | No effect on the assessment |
| FI | Further investigation required | Advisory — resolve before exchange | No effect on the assessment |
Under the model Electrical Installation Condition Report in BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, the overall assessment is reported as Unsatisfactory where any observation is given a C1 or C2 classification. C3 and FI observations are advisory and do not affect the overall assessment — though the report itself says they should be given due consideration.
C1 — Danger present
There is an immediate risk of injury and immediate remedial action is necessary. Wherever practicable the inspector will make the item safe on discovery; where that is not possible you should receive written notification as a matter of urgency. Typical examples are an exposed live conductor, a broken accessory with live parts accessible, or a cable with damaged insulation. A C1 is the most serious outcome available and is strong grounds for significant renegotiation or withdrawal.
C2 — Potentially dangerous
Not immediately dangerous, but it could become so, and urgent remedial action is necessary. This is the code you will see most often in older properties — no RCD protection on socket circuits, inadequate main bonding, deteriorated insulation that has not yet failed.
C3 — Improvement recommended
Non-compliant but not dangerous, in the inspector’s judgement. A pre-2016 plastic consumer unit enclosure is the classic example. Useful for planning upgrades; weak as negotiating leverage.
FI — Further investigation required
The inspection identified something the inspector could not verify within the agreed extent and limitations — restricted access, or a borderline test result. It is recorded as advisory, but for a buyer it is an open question about a property you are about to own. Ask for it to be closed out before exchange.
An Unsatisfactory EICR does not mean the property is uninhabitable. It means there is documented, quotable evidence of work that needs doing.
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06 · Buyer's Guide
An Unsatisfactory EICR is one of the clearest grounds for renegotiating a property purchase. Electrical remedial work is quantifiable and quotable — unlike damp or structural issues, where costs are harder to pin down, an electrician can give a firm quote for the work the EICR identifies.
Get written quotes before you negotiate
Obtain two or three written quotes for the remedial work from registered electricians and present them to the vendor's solicitor as evidence. A quote is far more persuasive than a verbal estimate.
A price reduction usually beats vendor-managed works
Asking the vendor to arrange and pay for the work before completion risks a rushed job by the cheapest available contractor. A reduction at the mid-point of your quotes leaves you in control of who does the work and to what standard.
Factor in disruption, not just the electrician
A rewire is not only the electrician's fee. Redecoration, replastering, temporary accommodation and the practical disruption of living through it all add cost. Put those in the number you take to the vendor.
Consider a solicitor's retention
For significant works, your solicitor can arrange a contractual retention — part of the purchase price held back until the work is completed and certified. Useful where the vendor agrees to do the work but you want assurance it actually happens.
07 · Buyer's Guide
A Satisfactory EICR is the result you are hoping for. It means the inspector recorded no C1 and no C2 observations. There may still be C3 or FI entries — these are advisory and do not change the assessment, but they are worth reading rather than filing.
Satisfactory does not mean perfect, and it does not mean the installation will never need attention. It means that at the time of inspection the installation was found to be in a satisfactory condition for continued service.
Keep the report
A Satisfactory EICR documents the condition of the installation at the time of purchase. It will be useful when you come to sell, let the property, or make an insurance claim, and the next inspector will work from it.
Note the next inspection date
Regulation 653.4 requires the report to state a recommended interval until the next inspection, supported by an explanation for that recommendation. Under Regulation 652.1 the interval is set having regard to the type of installation and equipment, its use and operation, the frequency and quality of maintenance, the external influences it is subject to, and the results and recommendations of previous reports — so it is a judgement about your property, not a fixed number. Diarise the date on your report.
Review the C3 observations
C3 findings do not make a report Unsatisfactory, but they identify where the installation would benefit from improvement. Review them with your electrician and plan the upgrades as budget allows.
08 · Buyer's Guide
Regulation 651.5 of BS 7671 requires periodic inspection and testing to be carried out by one or more skilled persons competent in such work, and Regulation 653.5 requires the report to be compiled and signed by them. For a house purchase EICR to be worth commissioning, that person also needs to be independent of the sale. Here is what to look for.
Registered with a competent person scheme
NICEIC, NAPIT and the other government-approved schemes assess their registrants and require minimum qualifications and insurance. Check the registration number on the scheme’s own online register before booking — not on the contractor’s website.
Qualified in inspection and testing specifically
The inspector should hold a qualification in inspection and testing, not only in installation work. The City & Guilds 2391 series (inspection and testing of electrical installations) is the standard route.
Independent of anyone who has worked on the property
Use a different electrician from the one who carried out any recent work at the property. An independent inspector has no interest in concealing an earlier defect.
Able to turn the report around fast
House purchases move quickly. Confirm before booking how soon the inspector can attend and issue the written report. A report emailed the same day as the inspection is what you want.
09 · Buyer's Guide
House purchase EICRs are high-volume, repeatable work with a predictable fee structure. Buyers are commissioning them more as awareness grows, and a referral network with mortgage brokers, conveyancers and estate agents can generate a steady flow of bookings.
Use the Elec-Mate EICR app to complete the full report on your phone during the inspection and send the PDF to the buyer before you drive away. Speed is a genuine competitive advantage here — the buyer cannot progress the transaction until the report lands.
Where C1 or C2 findings come up, quote the remedial work immediately using the quoting app. Buyers need a number fast to negotiate with the vendor, and the electrician who supplies it on the day of the EICR usually wins the work.
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