Electrician inspecting a residential fuse box during an EICR — An EICR is a graded survey of the fixed wiring, not a pass-or-fail exam.

An EICR is not a pass-or-fail exam so much as a graded survey. We carry out Romford EICRs for homeowners, landlords and businesses across RM1 to RM7 — Gidea Park, Collier Row, Harold Wood, Rush Green and the town centre — and handle the remedial work that arises from them.

Call 07502 396654 to book.

What an EICR covers

Digital multimeter alongside circuit breakers and electrical tools — Insulation resistance is tested at 500 V — where deteriorated cable shows itself.

An Electrical Installation Condition Report is a periodic inspection of the fixed wiring of a property — the consumer unit, the circuits, the sockets and switches, the earthing and bonding arrangements. Not the appliances plugged into it, but the parts that stay when the furniture leaves.

The inspection is part visual and part instrument-based: continuity of protective conductors and ring final circuits, insulation resistance at 500 V, polarity, earth fault loop impedance, and the operation of every RCD and RCBO with disconnection times recorded. A three-bedroom house typically takes three to four hours.

Understanding the codes

Every observation gets one of four classification codes, and the overall verdict follows from them rather than being awarded separately.

C1 — danger present. Risk of injury now. We make it safe before leaving, or isolate it.
C2 — potentially dangerous. Not dangerous today, but it would be under fault conditions. Remedial work required.
C3 — improvement recommended. Advisory only. Does not make the report unsatisfactory and does not have to be actioned.
FI — further investigation required. Something could not be determined on the day. Counts as unsatisfactory until resolved.

Any C1, C2 or FI makes the report unsatisfactory. C3 observations on their own do not. That mechanism catches people out — a report can be marked unsatisfactory on a single item while the rest of the installation is in perfectly reasonable order.

What actually fails in Romford

Romford’s stock spans Victorian terraces near the market, the enormous interwar spread through Gidea Park and Collier Row, post-war infill, and a heavy layer of extensions and conversions. Installations here are rarely original and rarely fully replaced, and the failures reflect that.

No RCD protection on socket circuits (C2) — standard on any board older than roughly 2008, and the most frequent reason a Romford report comes back unsatisfactory.
Main protective bonding absent or undersized (C2) — frequently missing in houses that have had a boiler replaced but never an electrical inspection.
Exposed live parts (C1) — a broken accessory, a missing blanking plate, a damaged flex outlet. Usually trivial to fix and genuinely dangerous until it is.
Undersized or deteriorated meter tails (C2) — 16 mm² or older, sometimes cracked at the bend.
Plastic consumer unit enclosure (C3) — compliant when installed, normally advisory now.
Circuits that cannot be traced (FI) — extremely common in converted properties.

Why the remedials converge on one visit

Look at that list and a pattern emerges: most remedial work arising from a Romford EICR converges on the consumer unit and its immediate surroundings. RCD protection, bonding and tails are all solved by the same visit, which is why an unsatisfactory report so often results in a consumer unit replacement rather than a scattered list of small jobs.

We quote remedial work separately from the inspection fee, so the inspection stays honest and you can compare the remedial price against anyone else’s.

Landlords: the clock is real

Inspector holding a property inspection checklist on a clipboard — Remedial work must be completed within 28 days of an unsatisfactory report.

Under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, private landlords must obtain an EICR at least every five years, supply it to existing tenants within 28 days, give it to new tenants before they move in, and provide it to the local authority within seven days of a request.

Where the report is unsatisfactory, remedial work must be completed within 28 days — or sooner if the report specifies a shorter period, which C1 items invariably do. Written confirmation then goes to the tenants and the council. Havering Council can impose substantial financial penalties for non-compliance, and the regime has since been extended to social housing, with existing tenancies to be inspected by 1 November 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often do I need an EICR?

Private rented property in England: at least every five years, and before a new tenancy begins. Owner-occupied homes: no legal requirement, but an inspection at least every ten years or on change of occupancy is the widely recommended interval. Commercial premises: risk-assessed, commonly five years.

Will you turn the power off?

For periods, yes — dead testing cannot be done on a live installation. Tell us when you book if particular circuits need to stay live and we will plan around it.

My report came back unsatisfactory. Is my house dangerous?

Not necessarily. Unsatisfactory means at least one item needs attention, which can be a single C2 for missing RCD protection on an otherwise sound installation. A C1 is different and we make those safe before leaving.

Do you test the whole installation?

Reports are based on a representative sample of accessories rather than every one, and that proportion is stated on the report. A report with no stated sample size is telling you less than it appears to.