EICR Safety Certificates for Private Landlords & Letting Agents in Bristol

The report has to be shared. A copy goes to existing renters within 28 days of the inspection, to a new renter before they move in, and to a prospective renter within 28 days of a written request. The local authority can ask for a copy and must receive it within seven days. Keep each report so the next inspector can see what was found last time, and diarise the next inspection date, which may be sooner than five years if the inspector recommends it.

An EICR records observations using codes. C1 means danger is present and immediate action is needed; C2 means a potentially dangerous condition; C3 means improvement is recommended; FI means further investigation is needed. A report with any C1, C2 or FI code is unsatisfactory. Remedial work or investigation must then be carried out within 28 days, or sooner if the report says so, and the landlord must give written confirmation that the work is complete to renters and the local authority within 28 days of finishing it.

Inspections do not always open every accessory. The inspector agrees the extent and limitations at the start, and a sample of sockets, switches and joints may be examined depending on the age and condition of the installation. Ask what limitations are proposed and whether they will be recorded, because a report with heavy limitations tells you less. Test results for each circuit, a description of the earthing arrangements and the condition of the consumer unit should all appear in the report.

The inspection needs access to every room, the consumer unit, the meter position and any outbuildings with a supply, and the power will be off for parts of the visit. Give renters written notice, explain that fridges, freezers, alarms and internet equipment will be interrupted, and ask them to clear access to the consumer unit. In an occupied property, a morning appointment with time allowed for testing to finish usually causes the least disruption.

Some things sit alongside the EICR rather than inside it. Appliances supplied with the property should be safe, and many landlords arrange periodic appliance testing to show this, although it is not a fixed legal requirement for private landlords. Smoke alarms are required on every storey used as living accommodation, and carbon monoxide alarms in rooms with a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker. It makes sense to check these on the same visit.

Before instructing one of the electricians you are introduced to, check whether the price covers the inspection alone or minor remedial items as well, how any C1 danger will be made safe on the day, whether the report will list each observation with its location, and how soon remedial quotes will follow. For portfolios, ask whether reports can be issued in one format with the next due date shown clearly.