UK Landlord Forum / Life

To further compound the uncertainty regarding EICRs and my idea that it was an upcoming feeding frenzy... I've just been having discussions with two Electricians about the EICRs I am trying to shoe-horn into the month of March...

One told me that a plastic Consumer Unit would be a C3... no need to do anything but respectfully advised me to schedule-in an upgrade for some future time.
One told me that a plastic Consumer Unit would be a C2... and mentioned something about "100amp fuses on one side" and also mentioned the word "rewire".

One told me that the EICR is valid for 5 years while another told me that it needs re-doing when a Tenant changes... even if it was only 6 months after the date of the EICR... we talked about one property I have that I let to foreign students and how that property would therefore effectively require annual EICRs. This last point is the one that gets me... because every Electrician-focused website I've ever seen carefully says "...but it is also recommended to get them checked again when one tenant leaves and before a new one arrives"... sneakily putting that across as if it's mandatory... whereas a couple of Letting Agent websites I've seen are clear that it last for 5 years, regardless of occupancy changes.

It's the Fear Factor Frenetic Feeding Frenzy?

Thankfully the .gov website clearly states:

1. Obtain a report from the person conducting the inspection and test which gives the results and sets a date for the next inspection and test.
2. Supply a copy of this report to the existing tenant within 28 days of the inspection and test.
3. Supply a copy of this report to a new tenant before they occupy the premises.

...which is enough for me to discount the Electrician who told me it needed redoing when a new Tenant moved in.

It's a question of risk verse cost.

A landlord have a general duty to ensure the electrical supply in a property they let out is safe. The most prudent way to ensure that is an inspection in between tenants since you can't guarantee the old tenant haven't done anything to the electrics while they were in occupation. An electrician would obviously recommend this, since it is the safest course, and they as electrician would get the work from it.

The minimum a landlord need to do is set out in the Management of Houses in Multiple Occupation (England) Regulations 2006 and more recently and generally the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020. That's 5-yearly test, or sooner if the most recent report says so.

Oh, I understand - the Electrician does not. I do not say "did not" because despite me educating him he still does not. He was not recommending it, he claimed it was required. We went over this in some detail. The words "I do this for a living" were used.

I was dreading the expense of having lots of work done.I had new consumer units in all the rentals less than 5 years ago,and reading some of the stuff online it sounded as if they were all now illegal.Not so.I have had the same sparks for years,and I really trust him not to rip me off.He seems to have ceased trading,and I am not optimistic about finding another like him.I had a boyfriend in the past who was a sparks,and I know all the tricks they get up to to greatly increase the scope of the job.He must be making a fortune if he's still in business. 

I think the approach is to chat over the "new consumer unit" specific angle beforehand. I had that chat... "let's just say you go in and see a plastic consumer unit, that doesn't meet the latest regulations, but it doesn't need to be ripped-out and changed, does it?" - and getting the answer you're comfortable with should be enough. However, I do not know this Electrician either... and he may have plenty of other tricks up his sleeve. Only time will tell. I am avoiding ordering food in... gotta save!

Please can somebody with good knowledge of the EICR set up please provide me with some clarification

Here we go:

My Mum is 89 has advanced Alzheimer's and has lives her current house for 58 years. She's always rented out some rooms upstairs to lodgers. Now only three lodgers remain upstairs and my Mum lives in the ground floor. The lodgers do not have tenancy agreements and used to pay with an old fashioned rent book. Now they pay weekly for their rented room straight into my Mums bank account. There are three bedrooms on floor one. The lodgers use a communal toilet on that floor as well as a separate bathroom. On the top floor they use a communal kitchen. Does my Mum require this EICR? I'm getting mixed answers. My Mum does not use any part of here lodgers areas but when she was able she did climb the stairs and Freely enter their rooms. Her lodgers have been in her house for 40 plus years hence my queries.

Thank you

If the occupier has the use of an amenity (including a toilet, personal washing facilities, a kitchen or a living room but excludes any area used for storage, a staircase, corridor or other means of access) in common with the landlord or a member of the landlord's family (whether or not also in common with others), then no as it's excluded from the regulations. Otherwise, yes.

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/312/schedule/1/made