Electrical Maintenance Services

An Electrical Installation Condition Report is a formal report on the condition of an existing electrical installation, carried out against BS 7671, the UK wiring regulations. It is sometimes called a periodic inspection. It tells you whether the installation is safe to keep using, and what needs attention.

An inspection usually includes:

• A visual inspection of the consumer unit, wiring and accessories, looking for damage, overheating and unsafe alterations.
• Earthing and bonding checks: The main earth, and the protective bonding to incoming gas and water pipes.
• Testing: Continuity of protective conductors, insulation resistance, polarity, earth fault loop impedance and the operation of RCDs.
• An agreed extent and limitations: What was and was not inspected, written into the report.

The power is off for parts of the testing, so we agree the timing with you, and with tenants or staff, in advance.

Each problem found is given a code, and the codes decide the overall result:

Any C1, C2 or FI makes the report unsatisfactory. A report with only C3 observations, or none at all, is satisfactory. Common findings in older homes include missing RCD protection, missing bonding, old rubber-insulated cables and DIY alterations.

Each report recommends a date for the next inspection. As general guidance:

• Rented homes in England: At least every five years, by law (see below), and earlier if the last report says so.
• Owner-occupied homes: Commonly recommended around every ten years, and when you buy a home.
• Before buying or selling: Not a legal requirement for a sale, but it tells a buyer what they are taking on.
• Business premises: Usually more often than homes; see our commercial electrical installation page.

Yes. Under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, private landlords in England must:

• Have the installation inspected and tested by a qualified and competent person at least every five years.
• Give a copy of the report to existing tenants within 28 days of the inspection, to new tenants before they move in, and to a prospective tenant within 28 days if they ask for it.
• Give a copy to the local authority within 7 days if it asks for one.
• Carry out remedial or further investigation work within 28 days, or sooner if the report says so, and give written confirmation that it has been done to the tenants and the local authority within 28 days of completion.
• Keep a copy of the report to give to the person carrying out the next inspection.

Councils can impose financial penalties on landlords who do not comply. Smoke and carbon monoxide alarm duties are separate; see our fire alarm installation and maintenance service. We work with letting agents to arrange access with tenants.

Portable appliance testing checks equipment that plugs in: kettles, heaters, extension leads, computers and power tools. It involves a visual inspection of the plug, cable and casing and, depending on the item, tests of earth continuity and insulation. Items that pass are labelled and recorded; failures are taken out of use.

There is no fixed legal interval for PAT testing. Employers must keep electrical equipment safe under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, and landlords must make sure appliances they supply are safe. PAT testing, with records, is a common way of showing that. How often depends on the equipment and how it is used: a site power tool needs checking far more often than an office lamp.

Planned preventive maintenance means inspecting and servicing electrical systems on a schedule, so faults are found before they cause a breakdown or a failed inspection. For businesses and landlords with several properties, an electrical maintenance contract can include:

• Periodic inspection and testing: (EICRs) at the intervals the reports recommend.
• PAT testing of portable equipment, with records.
• Emergency lighting checks: Typically a short monthly functional test and an annual full-duration test, recorded in a logbook.
• Distribution board checks: For overheating and loose connections, with thermal imaging where useful.
• Fire alarm servicing through our fire alarm installation and maintenance service.
• A maintenance log for insurers, landlords and fire safety inspectors.

As electrical maintenance contractors, we agree the schedule and scope before the contract starts, and plan visits around your opening hours.

An unsatisfactory report is a list of jobs. We explain each observation, price the remedial work in writing, and carry it out:

• Small repairs, such as damaged accessories or polarity faults, through our electrical repair services.
• Adding RCD protection and upgrading main protective bonding.
• Consumer unit replacements and new circuits, which are notifiable and are certified through one of the routes the building regulations allow.
• Rewiring, where old cables fail insulation tests, through our domestic electrical installation service.

When the work is complete, you receive the right certificate and written confirmation for your tenants and the local authority. We can also quote for the remedial work on another electrician's report. If a C1 danger is found or reported to you and cannot wait, see our emergency electrical services.