EICR Certificates in Kenton

If you let a property in Kenton, EliteShires Property Services can inspect and test the electrics from £120, and the report is issued within 48 hours of the visit. On site it usually takes two to four hours for a typical flat or house, depending on how many circuits there are. We are based at 6 Station Parade on Kenton Lane, and most of the installations we test around here follow the same pattern: wired in the 1930s, rewired somewhere between the 1960s and the 1990s, then extended. Knowing that history helps us read what we find, and it means we can tell you which observations need work and which are only recommendations.

Why do Kenton reports so often mention the consumer unit?

Because the boards date from those mid-century rewires. A consumer unit fitted thirty or more years ago may have no RCD protection, or only partial protection, and it is built to a standard that has since moved on. Depending on what the inspector finds, that can be recorded as a C2, which makes the report unsatisfactory, or a C3, which does not. The difference matters a great deal to your wallet. A C3 is an improvement recommendation, and you are not required to act on it. A C2 means something is potentially dangerous and has to be put right within 28 days, or sooner if the report says so. We explain which of the two applies and why, so you are not left guessing whether a board replacement is optional or required. If it is required, you get a fixed price for it with the report.

Where do extensions cause trouble in an inspection?

Kitchens and bathrooms in Kenton have usually been moved into rear or side extensions, and the wiring followed them in stages. One circuit may have gone in with the extension, another when the kitchen was refitted, a third when someone added outside lights or a socket at the end of the garden. Each was installed to whatever standard applied at the time, and the points where they join the older wiring are where observations tend to cluster. Earthing and bonding to newer pipework is another common gap, particularly where copper has been partly replaced with plastic. Loft conversions bring their own circuits too, sometimes fed from an existing one that was never designed to carry them. None of this means the house needs a rewire. It usually means a handful of specific corrections, and we list each one against the code it relates to so you can see exactly what is being asked of you.

What happens after an unsatisfactory report?

You get a written quote itemised against each C1, C2 or FI observation, and you are free to use another contractor for the work. If we find a C1, meaning danger is present, we make that part safe on the day and tell you what we have done. Once remedial work is complete you need written confirmation of it, which goes to the tenant and to the council if they have asked for the report. Copies of the report itself go to existing tenants, to new tenants before they move in, and to the local authority within seven days of a request. A breach can bring a council penalty of up to £40,000, so if you own a single Kenton flat and have never had to deal with this before, it is worth getting right. Try not to leave the work until the last days of the 28, because parts are not always on the shelf.

Keeping track of the five-year date

The regulations call for a new inspection at least every five years, or sooner if the report sets a shorter interval. Five years is long enough to forget, and Kenton landlords with one or two properties rarely have an agent reminding them. We record the date when we issue your report and contact you ahead of it. If you have a second property whose EICR falls due at a different time, we can plan both so that neither is left to the last minute. Where an EPC or gas check is due around the same period, those can go into the same visit. Keep each report somewhere you can find it quickly, because a new tenant, an agent or the council may ask to see it, and a copy that cannot be produced is little help.

What is included

• Inspection and testing of the fixed electrical installation
• Consumer unit, earthing and bonding assessed
• Dead and live testing of every circuit
• Every observation coded C1, C2, C3 or FI with an explanation
• A clear satisfactory or unsatisfactory outcome
• A written quote for any remedial work, itemised against the codes

How booking works

1. We confirm the price from the size of the property and the number of circuits
2. We attend and test (two to four hours for a typical flat or house)
3. Anything immediately dangerous is made safe on the day
4. You get the report to pass to your tenants within 28 days, and if work is needed, a line-by-line quote against it
5. Remedial work is booked, completed and certified within the 28 days, and we diary the five-year renewal

What you end up with: A compliant Electrical Installation Condition Report, a plain explanation of what each code actually means for you, and a fixed price for any work, with no obligation to have us do it.

Why people trust us in Kenton

• Gas work, electrical inspection and energy assessment carried out under the relevant registrations, ask to see the card
• Every price confirmed before we attend, and not revised afterwards
• Coded observations quoted line by line, so you can take the work elsewhere
• A time slot rather than a morning-or-afternoon window
• Work photographed before and after, and reported
• We tell you when you do not need something we sell

We are building a review profile under this name and would rather show you none than borrow someone else's. Ask us for references from landlords in Kenton and we will put you in touch.

More in Kenton

• EPC Certificates in Kenton: From £75
• Gas Safety Certificates in Kenton: From £70
• Plumbing & Heating in Kenton: From £60 per hour
• Electricians in Kenton: From £60 per hour
• Handyman Services in Kenton: From £45 per hour
• Property Maintenance in Kenton: Per job or monthly account

The full guide to this service is on our EICR page, and everything we cover locally is on the Kenton page.