Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) in Kingston upon Thames

Private rented homes in England must have a valid EICR, and landlords need a new report at least every 5 years unless the electrician recommends a shorter interval. We also provide the report to tenants within 28 days, and any C1 or C2 defects need remedial work within the required timescale. Where faults are not dealt with, the local authority can enforce compliance and penalties can reach £30,000 per breach.

Kingston upon Thames has 68,000 households and a population of 166,793, so the rental sector is not small, and a large share of homes are flats. Kingston University influences the local rental market, while Kingston Hospital and the retail area around John Lewis also feed demand for rented accommodation. Sales data for the last 12 months shows 5.7k property sales between April 2025 and March 2026, down 19.2% from the previous period, which tells us many owners are holding property for longer and need steady compliance checks rather than one-off paperwork.

The housing mix shapes the electrical risk profile. Flats often have compact installations with limited access, terraced homes can carry a patchwork of old and newer wiring, and detached properties usually have more circuits, outbuildings or garden supplies to test. In conservation areas around the historic market place and riverfront, we often see older consumer units, extra socket additions and partial upgrades, so a landlord EICR is not just a tick-box exercise. It is a full inspection of the installation as it stands today.

An unsatisfactory EICR does not always mean the property is unsafe to occupy, but it does mean there are defects that need attention. C1 and C2 findings are the serious ones, and those items must be dealt with promptly so the installation is brought back into a safe condition. We explain the problem in direct language, show where it is located and say what needs to be repaired or replaced.

Kingston landlords often ask us to prioritise work in flats near Kingston town centre or older houses around Surbiton where wiring has been altered repeatedly. That is sensible, because old sockets, damaged accessories and missing RCD protection can sit quietly for years until a fault appears. Once repairs are completed, we can carry out a re-inspection so the report trail is complete and the landlord has evidence that the electrical installation now meets the required standard.

Local authority enforcement can follow if a landlord ignores the report, and tenants have a right to receive a copy within 28 days. We also see FI codes on reports where an issue needs a closer look, such as concealed cabling, water damage around an extension or a circuit that cannot be fully isolated during the first visit. That is common in Kingston upon Thames, especially where older brick homes have had rear additions, loft conversions or new kitchen circuits added over time.

Our EICR prices start from £120, and the final figure depends on the size of the home, the number of circuits and the condition of the installation. A flat with a modern consumer unit and a compact layout is usually simpler to test than a larger detached property, especially where there are loft rooms, garden buildings or several older extensions. Kingston upon Thames has a wide spread of housing values too, from flats at £354,000 on average up to detached homes at £1,259,000, and that scale often reflects how much testing time the property needs.

We include the visual inspection, dead testing, live testing and a coded written report in the price. Once the inspection is complete, we review the results and issue the report promptly, then separate any remedial quote so you can see exactly what needs fixing and what can wait. In older Kingston homes with London stock brick walls, riverfront damp exposure or a history of rewiring, the test can uncover faults that would be invisible during a quick visit, which is why a proper inspection is worth booking before a tenancy change or sale.