Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) in Shoreham

The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 apply in Shoreham exactly as they do elsewhere in England, so every private rented property needs a valid EICR at least every 5 years. Landlords must give a copy of the report to existing tenants within 28 days, and new tenants should receive it before they move in. If the report shows C1 or C2 defects, remedial work must be started within 28 days, or sooner if the report says the risk is immediate. A local authority can enforce the rules and penalties can reach £30,000 per breach.

Shoreham’s housing profile matters because older homes often carry older wiring systems, and the wider Kent market still includes a heavy share of traditional housing. Kent recorded 21,000 property sales in the previous 12 months, down by 13.6% or 4,000 transactions, and just 497 properties, 2.4%, were newly built. That tells us a lot about the stock moving through the market. The same district also has homes built long before modern circuit protection became standard, so landlords need an inspection that checks the installation against current safety expectations, not the era in which the house was built.

Homedata.co.uk records a South East average house price of £385,000, up 1.8% year on year, while the national average sits at £284,000 with a +2.0% year-on-year change as of April 2026. Home.co.uk shows the UK average asking price at £452,249 in May 2026, and Kent’s average asking price at £444,598 with 0.0% change. Those figures do not set the EICR price, but they do show the broader value tied up in the local housing stock. A wiring fault in a house of that value is not a small issue, and remedial work should never be postponed because the property looks tidy from the outside.

An unsatisfactory EICR does not mean the property has to be empty, but it does mean the landlord must act quickly. Where we identify a C1 or C2 issue, the installation needs attention before the defect is left in service, and the regulations require the landlord to begin remedial work within 28 days. If the report includes FI observations, those must be investigated so the true condition of the circuit can be confirmed. We always explain which items are urgent and which are advisory, because landlords need a clear route from report to repair.

After repairs are completed, the work should be checked again so the records show that the defect has been resolved. In practice, that can mean a re-inspection or a written confirmation from the electrician who carried out the remedial work, depending on the nature of the fault. Local authority enforcement teams can ask for evidence, and tenants are entitled to receive the report within 28 days. If a landlord ignores a dangerous result, the issue is no longer just a paperwork problem. It becomes a safety risk with legal consequences attached.

Shoreham properties with older consumer units, mixed cable types or outdated earthing arrangements tend to produce defects that need prompt sorting, not patching. We often see small issues that reveal larger problems, such as inadequate bonding, missing RCD protection or damaged accessories hidden in older rooms. A failed report is useful because it tells you exactly where the installation falls short. That gives landlords a working list, not a mystery.

Our EICR pricing starts from £120, which gives landlords and homeowners a clear entry point before any extra work is added. The main cost drivers are property size, the number of circuits, the age of the installation and whether the consumer unit, earthing or bonding arrangements are easy to access. A small flat with a modern consumer unit can be quicker to test than a larger house with multiple consumer units, older accessories and several lighting circuits. That time difference is reflected in the final quote, because testing properly takes time on site.

The report itself is part of what you are paying for, not just the time spent with the test equipment. We check the installation, code any defects, explain the result and issue a document that can be shared with tenants, agents and insurers. If the installation needs remedial work, we can quote for repairs separately once the observations are known. That keeps the process orderly. First the inspection, then the fix, then the retest.

For Shoreham properties with period features, the work can take longer because hidden junctions, old fittings and earlier alterations need careful checking. That is common in conservation area homes and in older Sevenoaks stock where a modern kitchen may sit on top of decades of patchwork rewiring. We keep the report plain enough for non-specialists, but detailed enough for electricians and compliance teams to act on it. If you need the certificate for a tenancy renewal, sale or insurance file, our team can turn it around without fuss.