EICR Certificates in Bushey

EICR Certificates in Bushey: what is different here

Who checks EICRs in Bushey

Hertsmere Borough Council is the local housing authority for the whole of Bushey, from Hartsbourne and the heath to Merry Hill and Little Bushey, so it is the council that can ask to see your report and that enforces the Electrical Safety Standards Regulations 2020 here. It has no selective or additional licensing scheme, which means most Bushey landlords are not asked for an EICR at a licence application.

That does not lower the duty. The installation must be inspected at least every five years, the report given to the tenant within 28 days, and a copy sent to Hertsmere within seven days if it asks. Remedial work has to be done within 28 days, or sooner if the report says so, and the maximum penalty has been £40,000 since 1 November 2025.

Bushey's licensed HMOs and the 2026 standards

Hertsmere's register of licensed HMOs at 7 October 2026 lists 203 properties across the borough, 12 of them with Bushey addresses, on roads including Bushey Hall Road, Herkomer Road, Perrymead, Bushey Grove Road, Falconer Road and Park Avenue, and one above a shop on the High Street. All are mandatory licences. The council's July 2026 draft of its amenity standards requires the electrical installation in any HMO to be inspected and tested every five years with a valid certificate.

They also set socket numbers: six in each bedroom or study, and four in a shared kitchen for up to five people, on top of those serving appliances. The council's licensing page says the revised standards take effect on 25 November 2026 for new applications and variations.

Fire alarms, meters and escape lighting in shared houses

The fire safety guide that Hertsmere uses for HMOs was written by the Hertfordshire councils with Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. It calls for mains-wired, interlinked smoke detection in shared houses, a Grade D system in many smaller shared houses and a panel-based Grade A system in larger or more complex ones, and emergency lighting where the escape route has no useful borrowed light.

An electricity meter on the escape route should be moved or boxed in with 30 minutes of fire resistance. An EICR covers the fixed wiring that feeds these systems. The alarm and emergency lighting each have their own test certificates, so keep both with the report.

Extract fans and outside lights in Hertsmere's draft

Several of Hertsmere's draft HMO requirements land on the electrical installation. A shared kitchen must have a mechanical extract fan ducted outside, typically 60 litres a second, or 30 where a cooker hood vents externally, controlled by the tenant and, in a kitchen without an opening to the outside, wired to the light with a 15-minute overrun or a humidistat.

Bathrooms and shower rooms need extraction linked to the light in the same way. Every HMO should also have sensor-controlled lighting at the front and rear. An EICR reports on the circuits that feed these items; if any are missing, the installation work is a separate job we can quote for.

Wiring of different ages across WD23

Bushey's houses span more than a century. The Victorian cottages and terraces around the High Street in Bushey Village and along Herkomer Road will have been rewired at least once, often in stages. The Warren estate was built from about 1956, and a house of that age that has never been fully rewired can still carry parts of its original circuits.

Bungalows and later estates bring loft cable runs and, in many cases, a garage supply. We test every circuit we can safely reach, record what we could not, and explain any C1, C2 or further-investigation code in plain terms.

Flats over the High Street and High Road parades

In the 2021 Census, 1.4% of households in Bushey St James and 1.1% in Bushey Heath lived in a flat within a commercial building, which in practice means over the shops. The flat's installation normally starts at its own meter, but in older parades that meter can sit inside the shop, behind a locked rear door, or alongside the business supply.

Before the visit we need to know who holds the keys and when the shop opens, so the intake can be inspected. Shared rear staircases and communal lighting belong to the freeholder, and we note anything we see there without including it in your report.

Official sources

• legislation.gov.uk: Electrical Safety Standards Regulations 2020, regulation 3
• IET Wiring Matters, July 2026: FI codes and the EICR outcome under BS 7671:2018+A4:2026
• Hertsmere Borough Council: register of licensed HMOs at 7 October 2026
• Hertsmere Borough Council: draft amenity standards for HMOs 2026 (no additional licensing scheme)
• Hertsmere Borough Council: multiple occupancy homes (HMO licensing and fees)
• Hertfordshire councils and Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service: guide to fire safety in HMOs
• ONS Census 2021 via Nomis: accommodation type, Bushey Heath, Bushey North, Bushey Park and Bushey St James wards (TS044)

Last reviewed October 2026 by EliteShires Property Services.