Electrical safety for rental properties is of paramount importance for ensuring the safety of your tenants and your investment. Regular EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Reports) are not only a legal requirement but also incredibly sensible to help prevent minor issues from turning into major repairs.
Prevention is better than cure
Regular electrical testing and maintenance can help to prevent serious issues such as:
- Electrical Fires
- Electric Shock
- Overloaded Circuits
- Damaged Cabling
- Rewires
One of the most common problems we see in Bristol properties where an electrical system has not been checked for a long time is loose connections. Loose wires cause fires.
During electrical testing we check for issues such as high resistance and poor cable insulation quality. Where there are loose connections, this can show up as a high resistance reading on our specialised test equipment.
We inspect the Consumer unit / Fuse box connections to ensure that everything is tightened correctly and to visually check for any signs of thermal damage, overheating or potential problems.
Cable Quality and Age
One of our tests aims to establish the condition of the electrical wiring as a whole throughout the installation. As cables age, the insulation around the copper wiring begins to degrade and starts allowing ‘leakage’. Our testing process allows us to see how much leakage there may be, the condition of the cable insulation and the general condition of the electrical system in the property.
This allows you to make an informed decision about when repairs should be carried out, when to rewire the property and helps to avoid unexpected repairs at inconvenient times.
Aging Electrical Sockets and Switches
Whilst sockets and switches may seem to operate perfectly and perform their tasks of powering equipment, turning lights on and off and more, these accessories do actually have a lifespan. Metals can corrode internally; debris and dust can build up causing poor connections and prolonged use can have a detrimental effect over time.
During the inspection process, we check electrical accessories like sockets and switches for signs that they need replacing. This can mean the difference between swapping accessories when needed and having to repair damaged overheated wiring resulting in more costly repairs.
Electrical Checks and Repairs
New electrical installations should not require any repairs works for a good number of years if looked after correctly. Aging electrical systems will require maintenance and repair from time to time. The most common issues affecting older electrical systems seem to be:
- Broken Earthing
- Breaks on Ring Circuits
- Out of date Fusebox or Consumer Unit
- Damaged sockets and switches
Where a property has not been rewired recently there will normally be some observations on a report following the inspection process. These observations can range in severity from recommendation to immediate danger.
What are EICR observations?
There are a number of different codes that electricians apply to ‘situations’ found on an EICR. These are as follows:
- C1 – The most serious code. Immediate danger, repair or take remedial action immediately.
- C2 – Potentially dangerous – Not immediately dangerous but urgent remedial action is required.
- C3 – Improvement Recommended – Not as safe as it could be, changes are recommended.
- FI – Further Investigation – The inspector suspects that fault finding or further investigation will uncover some potentially dangerous problems.
NOTE – The inspector has seen something that they want to draw your attention to but does not attract a code.
Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory? Pass or Fail?
The outcome of an EICR is either SATISFACTORY or UNSATISFACTORY. Any report produced with a C1, C2 or FI code will result in an UNSATISFACTORY result on an EICR.
Where an installation is not up to standard and requires remedial works to improve safety, we can issue a quote for the required works.
EICR for rental properties in Bristol
If you need electrical testing for rental properties in Bristol then get in touch with us. We specialise in electrical safety testing and have excellent working knowledge of the wiring regulations along with years of experience in recognising electrical safety issues.
