EICR & Electrical Testing in Poole & Bournemouth

Our EICR prices start from £120 for a 1-bed flat, £150 for a 3-bed house, and £200 for a 4–5 bed house. Commercial premises from £250. All prices are fixed — we quote before we arrive and the price includes the full inspection, testing, and certificate.

For landlords renting out residential property in England, yes — it’s been mandatory since June 2020 under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector Regulations. Penalties for non-compliance are up to £40,000 per breach. For homeowners, it’s not legally required but strongly recommended every 10 years, when buying a property, or before major electrical work. Some home insurers now require one.

Typically 2–4 hours depending on the size of the property and number of circuits. A 1-bed flat takes around 1.5–2 hours, a 3-bed house 2–3 hours, and a large 4–5 bed house 3–4 hours. We’ll confirm the expected duration when booking.

If we find C1 (danger present) or C2 (potentially dangerous) observations, the report is classified as unsatisfactory and remedial work is required. We’ll provide a clear quote for the repairs and can often carry them out during the same visit. For landlords, remedial work must be completed within 28 days. C3 (improvement recommended) observations don’t cause a fail.

C1 means danger is present and requires immediate action. C2 means potentially dangerous and needs urgent repair within 28 days. C3 is an improvement recommendation — not dangerous but worth addressing. FI means further investigation is needed. A report with any C1 or C2 is classified as unsatisfactory.

There’s no legal requirement, but buyers’ solicitors increasingly request one. A satisfactory EICR removes a potential objection and can speed up the sale. It also prevents price reductions if electrical issues are discovered during a building survey. At £120–£200 for a typical home, it’s a small cost relative to a smooth sale.

Every 5 years, or at every change of tenancy — whichever comes first. This has been a legal requirement since June 2020. 2026 is the first major renewal year — if your property was first certified in 2020–2021, your certificate expires this year. Penalties for non-compliance are up to £40,000 per breach.

It’s not legally required for homeowners, but we strongly recommend one every 10 years, when buying a new property, or if you notice any electrical issues (tripping, burning smells, old wiring). Some home insurers now ask whether an EICR has been carried out. It’s the only way to know for certain that your home’s electrics are safe.

An EICR tests the fixed wiring installation — everything from the meter to the sockets and light fittings. PAT testing checks portable appliances (kettles, computers, lamps). They test different things: an EICR covers your building’s permanent electrics, while PAT testing covers plugged-in equipment. Landlords and businesses often need both.

Yes — we need access to all rooms, the consumer unit, and any outbuildings included in the installation. We’ll also need to turn circuits off briefly during testing. For rental properties, we can coordinate directly with tenants or letting agents to arrange access.

Typically the buyer pays for any electrical inspections they commission. An EICR is not part of a standard building survey — it’s a separate specialist inspection. Some sellers provide one proactively to strengthen their position and speed up the sale.

An EICR for a Poole property starts from £120 for a 1-bed flat (typical town-centre or Hamworthy conversion stock), £150 for a 2–3 bed house (typical Parkstone, Branksome or Creekmoor home), and £200 for a 4–5 bed house (typical Sandbanks, Canford Cliffs or Lilliput property). Larger HMOs from £280, commercial from £250 quoted per circuit count. Every figure is all-in — full visual inspection, dead and live testing, the written C1/C2/C3/FI report and the NICEIC certificate. We're based at Unit 45 Balena Close in Creekmoor (BH17), so every Poole postcode is within 20 minutes and urgent landlord slots are usually same-week.

An EICR for a Bournemouth property starts from £120 for a 1-bed flat (typical Westbourne or BH1 town-centre stock), £150 for a 2–3 bed house (typical Winton, Moordown or Kinson semi), and £200 for a 4–5 bed house or HMO (typical Boscombe, Springbourne or Charminster multi-let conversion). Larger HMOs of 7+ bedrooms from £280. Commercial EICRs across BH1–BH11 from £250, quoted per circuit count. Reports are issued within 48 hours, same-day for urgent landlord cases.

The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 require a satisfactory EICR before each new tenancy and renewed every 5 years. Most landlords whose first EICR was issued in 2020–2021 are hitting their 5-year renewal now, and BCP Council enforcement is actively chasing that cohort. Book 4–6 weeks before expiry to avoid a compliance gap. The process: phone or WhatsApp to book, we run the same test schedule as the original (typically 2–3 hours for a 2–3 bed), digital report within 48 hours, and if any C2 is found we quote the remediation immediately so you can fix it inside the 28-day window. Send a photo of your existing EICR cover page on WhatsApp and we'll come back with a fixed renewal price in under an hour. See our BCP enforcement guide for what BCP specifically chases.

Yes. BCP HMO licences typically require four things: the 5-year EICR (same as private rentals), an annual interim electrical safety check (we re-test RCD operation, visually inspect the consumer unit and re-issue the certificate), an annual fire alarm grading certificate (usually Grade A or D2 depending on HMO size), and an annual emergency lighting test certificate. We do all four under one NICEIC visit so you keep a single certificate file per year. Boscombe (BH5) and Springbourne (BH7) have the highest HMO concentration in BCP and we cover them weekly. See our HMO compliance guide for the full BCP checklist.

Pre-1940 stock — Edwardian Charminster, Springbourne and Queens Park in Bournemouth, Victorian and Edwardian Parkstone, Penn Hill and Poole Old Town — routinely returns Code C2 on the lighting circuits, because the original rubber or lead-sheathed cabling degrades after 60+ years. The report may also score FI (further investigation) where an insulation reading is borderline. The remedy is normally a partial rewire of the affected circuits (£1,500–£2,500 typical) or a full rewire (£3,800–£5,000 for a 3-bed). The consumer unit on these properties almost always scores C2 as well, so the cleanest fix is usually a board upgrade plus partial rewire, bundled. Our period-property rewiring guide covers the full picture.

It depends what was scored. The three most common patterns across Poole and Bournemouth: (1) consumer unit C2 (no RCD coverage or plastic enclosure) — fix is a board upgrade from £450–£900 depending on house size; (2) wiring C2 on multiple circuits (insulation resistance failed, common in period Parkstone, Penn Hill, Old Town and Edwardian BH7/BH8 stock) — fix is partial or full rewiring from £1,500–£5,000 depending on scope; (3) individual accessory C2 (damaged sockets, exposed terminals, DIY-added circuits without correct earthing) — itemised at £150–£500. We go through the report line by line on the survey visit and quote each item separately. Once the work is done we re-issue the satisfactory EICR with no second inspection fee.