On this page
- What the price includes
- Electrical safety certificate and electrical safety check cost
- Why a bigger property costs more
- EICR cost for a 3-bed house in London
- Remedial work is a separate cost
- What to check before booking a cheap EICR
- Getting ready for the inspection
- Who pays for an EICR in a rented property
The short version
- An EICR in London costs from £120 for a 1-bed flat, including VAT.
- The price follows the number of circuits, so a 3-bed house starts from £200.
- Remedial work is quoted separately, once the report shows what needs fixing.
- A visual check is not an EICR; every circuit has to be tested.
- Homeowners and landlords pay the same price; only landlords must repeat it at least every five years.
An EICR certificate in London costs from £120 for a 1-bed flat, including VAT. The price follows the number of circuits being tested, so larger homes cost more: from £150 for a 2-bed, £200 for a 3-bed house and £250 for a 4-bed or larger. Any remedial work the report calls for is quoted separately.
| Property | Guide price (VAT included) |
|---|---|
| 1-bed flat | from £120 |
| 2-bed flat or house | from £150 |
| 3-bed house | from £200 |
| 4-bed house or larger | from £250 |
| HMOs | quoted per property |
These are guide prices, not fixed quotes. The figure for your property is confirmed once we know how many circuits it has and what the consumer unit looks like, and it does not change if the report comes back unsatisfactory.
What the price includes
An EICR is a full inspection and test of the fixed electrical installation, not a walk-round with a clipboard. The guide price covers:
- A visual inspection of the consumer unit, wiring, sockets, switches and light fittings
- Testing every circuit for continuity, insulation resistance, earth fault loop impedance and polarity
- Timing each RCD to confirm it trips fast enough
- A written report coding every observation C1, C2, C3 or FI, with an overall satisfactory or unsatisfactory result
It does not include fixing anything the inspection finds. If the codes on a report are new to you, our guide to what an EICR report tells you explains each one.
Electrical safety certificate and electrical safety check cost
If you have been asked for an electrical safety certificate for a rented home, the document you need is an EICR, and a landlord's electrical safety check is the same inspection. Both are priced as in the table, from £120 for a 1-bed flat, including VAT. Our guide to what an EICR report tells you explains why the names get mixed up.
What counts is what the check involves, not what it is called. A walk-round that looks at the fuse board without testing each circuit is not an EICR, whatever the paperwork says.
Searching for an EICR certificate cost in the UK turns up a spread of figures, because every firm sets its own. The table above is our London guide, not a national average. The landlord duty described on this page is England's; the rest of the UK sets its own rules.
Homeowners pay the same as landlords
An inspection in an owner-occupied home is the same work as in a rental, so the guide price is the same. What differs is the law. A homeowner is not legally required to have an EICR, and you do not need one to sell a property.
It is still worth having before a sale, because it gives a buyer a written record of the installation's condition. Our guide to how often you need an EICR covers the recommended interval for homeowners.
Why a bigger property costs more
Bedrooms are only a rough stand-in. What decides the time on site, and so the price, is how much there is to test. Our guide to how often you need an EICR covers how long the visit takes.
Circuits, not bedrooms
Each circuit is tested on its own. A 2-bed flat with a modern eight-way board is a shorter job than a 2-bed house with a garage supply, outside sockets and a loft conversion running from a sub-board.
The age of the consumer unit
An older board with rewireable fuses or no RCD protection takes longer to inspect, and it is more likely to produce observations that have to be written up and explained.
Access and occupancy
Parts of the test need the power off. An occupied home, a board boxed into a cupboard or sockets behind heavy furniture all add time. An empty property between tenancies is the quickest to test.
EICR cost for a 3-bed house in London
Our guide price for a 3-bed house is from £200, including VAT. It sits above a 2-bed because a house spread over two or three floors usually has more circuits to test and more rooms to get into.
To turn that guide into a fixed price, we ask a few questions before booking:
- How many floors, and whether the loft or basement has been converted
- Where the consumer unit is, and whether an extension runs from a second board
- Any outbuildings with power, such as a garden office, shed or garage
- Whether anyone is living there on the day, or the house is empty
An empty 3-bed with one modern board sits close to the guide price. One with a converted loft, a sub-board and a garden office has more to test, and the quote tells you so before you book.
Remedial work is a separate cost
The inspection can be priced before anyone arrives. What follows an unsatisfactory report cannot, because nobody knows what needs fixing until the testing is done. These are guide prices for the fixes that come up most often:
| Common remedial work | Guide price (VAT included) |
|---|---|
| Replacing a damaged socket or switch | from £80 |
| Replacing a light fitting | from £80 |
| Tracing a minor fault | from £100 |
| Replacing the consumer unit | from £400 |
| Partial rewire | from £2,000 |
We quote remedial work in writing once the report is done, and you decide before any of it starts. When it is finished, the affected circuits are re-tested and you get paperwork confirming the faults are cleared.
A C1 observation, where danger is present, is different. A competent electrician makes it safe on the spot rather than leaving it to be booked in later.
What to check before booking a cheap EICR
Online offers well below these figures do exist. Before booking any EICR, whoever you choose, ask three things:
- Is every circuit tested? A visual check alone is not an EICR, and it will not satisfy a landlord's legal duty.
- Is the written report included in the price? It should be.
- How is remedial work priced? Get the answer before the inspection, not after it.
Getting ready for the inspection
A little preparation keeps the visit short and means nothing has to be left untested.
- Clear access to the consumer unit and to as many sockets as you can
- Have the previous EICR to hand, if there is one, so earlier observations can be checked
- Plan for the power being off for periods during testing
- In a rented property, arrange access with the tenants well in advance
Who pays for an EICR in a rented property
The landlord. Private landlords in England must have the installation inspected at least every five years and give tenants a copy of the report. Our page on landlord EICRs in East London covers the legal duty, and how often you need an EICR sets out the intervals for every type of property.
For a price on your own property, call 07727 619854 or see our EICR and electrical safety testing service. We are NICEIC approved and carry out any remedial work ourselves, so a failed report never becomes a second contractor's problem.
Frequently asked questions
For a rented home, the electrical safety certificate is the EICR. In London our guide price runs from £120 for a 1-bed flat to £250 for a 4-bed or larger, VAT included. Elsewhere, local firms set their own prices, so check that every circuit is tested and the report is included before comparing quotes.
No. The price covers the inspection, the testing and the written report. Any remedial work is quoted separately once the report shows what needs fixing, and you approve it before it starts.
No. The inspection is the same work whatever the result, so its price does not change. What follows an unsatisfactory report is remedial work, which is quoted on its own.
The landlord. It is a legal duty under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, and tenants must be given a copy within 28 days of the inspection.