Landlord electrical safety certificate

davezawadi (David Stone):

Alcomax

The only way to give an EICR to a landlord, where it is necessary to be completely compliant with BS7671, is to have no limitations. If you say "I didn't inspect x, y or z because..., the installation may not be compliant, and therefore not meet the law as described. If I say "I did not check this circuit, or I couldn't inspect under the floor although I knew there was a junction box or....." you see it just goes on. Limitations should be few and simple with good reasons. I have seen EICRs where basically nothing useful was inspected or tested because of a string of reasons, even including "I could not inspect the CU because the cupboard was full of junk". So a quick visual of what could be seen and a satisfactory installation. Is that the standard which you think should be met, because if so I know a couple of dodgy landlords who would find you jolly useful!

But provided that the landlord is clutching a report that shows no defects, then nobody has any way to tell that the installation is non-compliant.  If you only have to find a blind electrician every five years, you could go for decades without anybody being any the wiser.  The report just has to look plausible enough to get it past the council.


What it needs is a limitation that's an encoded way to say "I wasn't actually asked to look at the installation; the landlord described it to me over the phone, and it sounds compliant".

davezawadi (David Stone):

Alcomax

The only way to give an EICR to a landlord, where it is necessary to be completely compliant with BS7671, is to have no limitations. If you say "I didn't inspect x, y or z because..., the installation may not be compliant, and therefore not meet the law as described. If I say "I did not check this circuit, or I couldn't inspect under the floor although I knew there was a junction box or....." you see it just goes on. Limitations should be few and simple with good reasons. I have seen EICRs where basically nothing useful was inspected or tested because of a string of reasons, even including "I could not inspect the CU because the cupboard was full of junk". So a quick visual of what could be seen and a satisfactory installation. Is that the standard which you think should be met, because if so I know a couple of dodgy landlords who would find you jolly useful!

But provided that the landlord is clutching a report that shows no defects, then nobody has any way to tell that the installation is non-compliant.  If you only have to find a blind electrician every five years, you could go for decades without anybody being any the wiser.  The report just has to look plausible enough to get it past the council.


What it needs is a limitation that's an encoded way to say "I wasn't actually asked to look at the installation; the landlord described it to me over the phone, and it sounds compliant".