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EICR’s & Electrical Installation Certificates for Short Term Lets

What is an EICR?

Electrical Installation Condition Report is an electrical safety certificate to show that all the fixed electrical equipment that is supplied through the electricity meter has been tested.  It’s basically the hard wired system through your property.

Consumer board

This is different from Portable Appliance Testing (PAT) which covers portable equipment and appliances such as washing machines, hairdryers, kettles and tv’s, and will be covered in a different blog post.

Do Short Term Lets need an EICR?

In short yes, Scotland is the only part of the UK where an EICR is mandatory for any short term let property. 

Why do we need a certificate?

Faulty electrical installations can cause electric shocks and fires by generating high temperatures.

The risk of fire and shock can be reduced by ensuring the electrical installations and appliances are safe. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service figures for 2022 – 2023 show that 12% of accidental house fires and 6% of deaths are a result of faulty electrics.

Who carries out the inspection?

An EICR must be completed by a suitably competent person. “Competent person” means a skilled person (electrically) as defined in amendment 3 of BS7671.  Electricians will let you know if they are qualified to carry out the inspection. BS7671 provides forms for recording an EICR

What is tested?

All fixed electrical equipment throughout the property including the fuse box or consumer board, cabling, switches, light fittings, sockets and hard wired smoke detectors to ensure they ae in a satisfactory condition and meet current legislative requirements.

Can you fail an EICR inspection?

Inspections are classed as satisfactory or unsatisfactory.  If the inspection was unsatisfactory it means that essential work or further investigation need to be done.  These are coded as C1, C2 or F1.  The electrician carrying out the test will be able to advise further.  I will explain all codes in more detail in a future blog.

Connection showing scorching

How long is the certificate valid for?

A safety certificate is valid for 5 years.  If essential work is identified on the certificate, this can be carried out and will be certified separately to show it has been done.

Electrical Installation Certificate (New builds or full re-wire)

New builds and houses that have been fully rewired may have an Electrical Installation Certificate.  These are valid in the same way as EICRs.

What do I do with the Certificate?

You are required to have a copy in the property that your guests can access (often placed in a guest folder or near the consumer unit).

You may be asked to provide it as proof the testing has been completed within the last 5 years to any requesting authority such as the local council or fire auditors.

If you have an insurance claim that involves the electrical supply you may be asked to provide a copy to your insurance company.

Further information

https://www.gov.scot/publications/electrical-installations-and-appliances-private-rented-properties/


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Location: Isle of Arran KA27, UK

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