What Are Electrical Installation Reports?
If you’re a landlord and own rental properties, or if you own a business or office premises, it is your legal responsibility to make sure that your tenants, employees and customers are safe as long as they’re at home or onsite.
Because we can’t see electricity and because cables are typically hidden inside the walls, with consumer units tucked away in cupboards out of sight, it can be all too easy to neglect the condition of your electrics and all too easy to forget to check them for signs of wear and tear or damage over the years.
However, it’s vital that you do have regular inspections carried out so you can rest assured that electrical installations don’t pose a risk to health and safety, with old and faulty electrics putting tenants, workers and customers at risk of electric shocks and fires.
This is where the electrical installation condition report (EICR) really comes into its own, paperwork that is provided after an inspection has been carried out to test the system and ensure that it’s safe to use.
These inspections are mandatory for residential landlords to keep tenants and their possessions safe, with all tenancies requiring a valid EICR certificate, which will have to be renewed every five years.
What are the main aims of the EICR?
A qualified electrician must carry out the inspection, which involves a thorough examination of all your electrical wiring installations and systems. An assessment of the build quality, safety and performance of the installation will take place, with the electrical engineer looking out for defects or deterioration.
Once a visual assessment has been completed, the system will be disconnected from the mains power supply so that circuits can undergo dead testing to ensure that there are now wires that aren’t connected. Live electrical testing will also be carried out to ensure that component parts are in good condition to continue working as intended.
The aim of the EICR is to record the inspection results, identify damage that might affect safe use of the electrics, ensure that the system meets the IET wiring regulations and identify any weak areas that may lead to electric shocks or high temperatures.
Your electrician will go through the report with you and advise you of any work that needs to be done in order to make your systems safe. It’s also important to put the report in a safe place, as you may need to provide a copy to your insurance provider or local council in the future
If the report states that remedial works are required in order to improve health and safety standards, it will be your responsibility to arrange these.
It may be possible for your electrician to carry out these works then and there on the day, depending on how complex it is and what their availability is like, but otherwise you’ll need to arrange for it to be completed after the inspection.
If you’re currently looking for electrical contractors to help you with your inspection and EICR, get in touch with the Volt East team today.