Reports and certificates
EICR &
Landlord Testing
Newcastle
A proper inspection and test of everything fixed in the building, a report you can actually act on, and remedials priced separately so the two decisions stay apart.
What an EICR is, and is not
The report is a working inspection and test of the permanent wiring: the board, everything buried behind the plaster, the accessories, the lighting points, and the earthing and bonding holding the whole arrangement together. It has nothing to do with your kettle or your washing machine, and it is a long way from somebody walking round making notes.
The outcome is a verdict of satisfactory or not, with each defect carrying a code that signals how seriously to take it. C1 is danger present, needing action straight away. C2 is potentially dangerous and must be put right. C3 recommends an improvement and will not on its own sink the report. FI flags something needing further investigation before a judgement can be made.
The codes matter more than the verdict
Two mistakes come up constantly. One landlord sees unsatisfactory, panics, and writes a cheque covering every line on the document. Another sees satisfactory with half a dozen C3s attached and files it without reading further. Both have skipped the useful step, which is working out what each code is actually pointing at and deciding accordingly.
So the report gets gone through with you in plain English rather than emailed as a PDF and left to speak for itself. You will know which items are legally forcing your hand, which are sensible to deal with while somebody is already on site, and which can reasonably wait. Remedial work is quoted separately so you are never in the position where the only person able to price the fix is the person who found the fault.
Where the law actually sits
Every privately rented property in England needs a satisfactory EICR renewed at least every five years, or sooner where the report itself specifies a shorter interval. A copy goes to existing tenants within 28 days of the inspection, to new tenants before they move in, and to the local authority within seven days of any request. Where a report comes back unsatisfactory, remedial work must be completed within 28 days or sooner if the report says so.
Licensed HMOs get looked at as part of the licensing process too, and Newcastle has a considerable number of them. A change of tenancy on its own does not restart the five-year clock, which is a point that catches people out regularly.
Portfolios and access
The regulations are rarely the difficult part. Access is. Tenants work, void periods are short and nobody wants four separate visits to one street. For anything above a handful of properties we will build a run that works through them in sequence, pair inspections with appliance testing in a single visit where the property is furnished, and book remedials into the gaps rather than dragging the whole thing across three months.
What the inspection covers
- The board itself and everything protecting the circuits
- How the installation is earthed and what is bonded
- Insulation resistance readings taken circuit by circuit
- Loop impedance and prospective fault current figures
- RCDs operated and their trip times recorded
- Sockets, switches, fittings and any exposed cabling
- A coded report translated out of jargon for you
- Any repairs quoted on their own, separately
How it runs
What actually happens
Work to your access
Give us the tenancy situation and inspections drop into voids, changeover days or pre-agreed slots. Tenants are not expected to rearrange their week for us.
Test it through
Instruments on every circuit and the numbers written down as they come. Reckon on a few hours for an ordinary property and longer for anything big or elderly.
Talk it over
We take the report code by code with you, separating what the law is pushing you into from what is merely sensible and what can genuinely sit for now.
Fix and reissue
Whatever you decide to go ahead with is priced on its own, completed, and the report reissued clean.
Recent projects
Jobs like this one
Taken on site the day each of these wrapped up.
FAQs
Asked about this a lot
How frequently do lets need testing?
At least every five years, or sooner where the previous report specified a shorter interval. Copies go to existing tenants within 28 days, to new tenants before they move in, and to the council within seven days of a request. A change of tenancy does not on its own reset the clock.
How long will an inspection take?
An average two or three bedroom property is usually a few hours. Bigger places, older installations and anything with a lot of circuits take longer. Multi-lets with several consumer units can run to most of a day, which is worth knowing when you are arranging access.
Mine came back unsatisfactory. What now?
That verdict means a C1, C2 or FI has been logged against something. Until those are resolved it cannot be reissued, and a rented property gives you 28 days from receiving it unless the document names a shorter period. We will tell you precisely which items are driving the verdict and what each costs to resolve.
Can I use my own contractor for the remedial work?
Of course, and you will get a report clear enough for somebody else to work from. Quoting remedials separately is deliberate for that exact reason — nobody should be in a position where the only person who can price the fix is the person who found the fault.
Can appliance testing happen in the same visit?
Yes, and for a furnished let it makes obvious sense to combine them. Appliance testing covers the portable items you supply — kettles, microwaves, lamps, white goods — which an EICR does not touch. It is quick while somebody is already on site.
What about a Tyneside flat with a shared supply?
It gets inspected as the individual dwelling it is, but the shared parts need establishing first — which meter serves which flat, where the isolation sits, and whether the stair lighting belongs to one dwelling or is genuinely communal. That gets recorded properly rather than glossed over.
Also worth a look
Other things we do
Get in touch
Get a price for this
If it is urgent, ring instead. If not, put as much in here as you can and something useful comes back — a number or a date, not a brochure.
Call the team0191 934 0119- CoveringNewcastle, Gateshead, North Tyneside and out to Ponteland, Cramlington, Blyth, Prudhoe and the coast at Tynemouth and Whitley Bay.
- FlatsTyneside flats a speciality — shared stairs, split supplies and meters that live in somebody else's cupboard.
- LandlordsInspection reports, multi-let certification, remedials and appliance testing across a portfolio.
- UrgentAnything that has already failed wants a phone call. We can be on the road and walking you through isolation on the same call.
Send the details
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Electrician To Your Door
Certificate due?
Tell us the property type and tenancy position and we will fit it into a window that actually works.