Electrical faults rarely announce themselves. A flickering light, a warm socket, a circuit that keeps tripping at odd hours. By the time something visible happens, the wiring behind the walls may have been failing quietly for months. That is why the law treats periodic inspection as a baseline duty, not a courtesy paid to tenants or buyers. An EICR London inspection turns that duty into a written record. The rules shift depending on what you own.
A flat is not a house. A house is not an HMO. Each one carries its own quirks, and the differences matter when you book an EICR London inspection.
Flats
Flats sit inside shared buildings, which complicates matters in ways many owners do not expect. The wiring inside your front door belongs to you. The communal supply, riser cables, landing lights, and intake cupboard usually do not. A standard inspection covers the consumer unit, circuits, sockets, switches, and fixed appliances inside the demised area.
What gets missed often causes trouble later. Shared meter cupboards, locked risers, and freeholder cabling sit outside the scope of a domestic inspection. If the block runs older rising mains or aluminium feeders in communal spaces, those need a separate report arranged through the management company.
Leaseholders sometimes assume the freeholder handles all of it. They do not. Inside the flat, the duty falls on the leaseholder or the landlord renting it out. That gap in understanding is where many compliance failures begin.
Houses
Houses bring fewer access problems and more wiring to test. A typical two-or three-bedroom property in London may run six to ten circuits, sometimes more in older Edwardian or Victorian stock.
Older properties tend to fail on similar issues. Rubber or fabric-insulated cables from the 1960s. Missing earth bonding on gas and water pipes. Wooden-backed consumer units that no longer meet current standards. RCD protection is absent on socket circuits.
Common findings in London houses include:
- Outdated fuse boards without RCD protection
- Poor earthing in extensions or loft conversions
- Damaged cable insulation under floors and in roof spaces
- Bathroom lighting and fans were fitted without correct zoning.
Renovated houses throw up surprises. Loft conversions, side returns, and basement digs often introduce circuits added by different trades at different times. Some pass cleanly. Others reveal unsafe junctions buried behind plasterboard.
HMOs
HMOs sit in their own category. Houses in Multiple Occupation have required regular electrical inspections since 2006, long before private rented sector rules caught up. Many local councils tighten this further through licensing conditions.
The inspection runs deeper. More sockets, more circuits, more cooking appliances, and heavier demand patterns from unrelated tenants. Kitchens and bathrooms shared between five or more people see far harder use than a typical family home, and the wiring shows it.
HMO landlords also need to think about:
- Emergency lighting in escape routes
- Mains-wired fire alarm systems with battery backup
- A separate consumer unit for the landlord supply
- Documentation is kept for each licensable room.
What an Unsatisfactory Report Means
The report itself uses codes. C1 marks danger present, action required immediately. C2 marks are potentially dangerous; remedial work is needed. C3 is a recommendation, not a failure. FI flags further investigation required.
For rented properties, anything coded C1, C2, or FI returns an unsatisfactory result. Twenty-eight days. That is the window to complete remedial work and provide written confirmation to tenants and, if asked, to the local authority.
Miss that window and the council can step in. They have the power to arrange the work themselves and recover costs from the landlord. Civil penalties reach up to £30,000 per breach under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020.
Costs
Pricing varies by property type, age, and circuit count.
- Studio or one-bedroom flat: £100 to £150
- Two-or three-bedroom flat: £150 to £200
- Three-or four-bedroom house: £200 to £300
- Larger houses with four or more bedrooms: £300 to £450
- HMOs: £250 to £600 depending on size and licensable rooms
Older properties or those with limited access tend to sit at the higher end. So do properties that have not seen an inspection in fifteen years, because inspectors almost always find extra items needing further investigation.
Booking and Preparation
Inspectors need access to every socket, switch, and the consumer unit. Move furniture away from sockets in advance. Find the meter cupboard key if one exists. Check that the loft hatch opens.
For tenanted properties, give written notice. Most tenants accept the visit without trouble, perhaps especially when the reason is explained plainly. The inspection takes three to four hours for a typical flat, and a full day or longer for a larger house or HMO.
The Bottom Line
What if my tenant blocks access? Document every attempt in writing. Local authorities recognise that landlords cannot force entry, and reasonable evidence of attempted compliance protects you from penalties.
