What does bonding mean on an EICR?

Bonding connects metal pipes, such as gas and water, to the earthing system so they cannot become live in a fault. Missing or inadequate bonding is a common finding on older homes.

Thatcham, Berkshire

Landlord EICRs in Thatcham: the five-year rule, locally

Thatcham grew quickly in the second half of the twentieth century, so many of its rented homes date from the same few decades of building.

What is different in Thatcham

Thatcham is in West Berkshire, and West Berkshire Council enforces the electrical safety regulations here. Its private housing team can ask for your EICR and require any C1, C2 or FI items to be put right.

Estates built from the 1960s to the 1980s make up much of the town. Homes of that age have often had a new consumer unit at some point but may still have original cables, and some have had partial rewires when kitchens or bathrooms were redone. An inspection checks the installation as a whole, including bonding to gas and water pipes.

Because so many Thatcham houses look alike, landlords with more than one property should keep each EICR clearly labelled with its address. A report without a clear address or date is not much use when a council or tenant asks for it.

Local housing authority: West Berkshire Council (opens in a new tab)

The rule, in brief

If you let a home in England on a tenancy covered by the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, the fixed wiring must be inspected and tested by a qualified and competent person at least every five years. The result is an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR). Existing tenants get a copy within 28 days of the inspection, new tenants before they move in, and the council within 7 days if it asks for one. Owner-occupiers have no legal duty, but Electrical Safety First recommends an inspection at least every ten years, and whenever you buy a home.

Source: Electrical Safety First (opens in a new tab) / GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)

When do you need an EICR? — the full answer

Related safety advice

Signs your consumer unit needs replacing

A consumer unit, or fuse box, is worth having checked by a registered electrician if it still has rewirable fuses, has no RCD protection, shows scorch marks, smells of burning, crackles, feels hot, or trips repeatedly. Age on its own is not proof it is unsafe: an EICR is how you find out whether it needs replacing. Replacing one is notifiable work under Part P of the Building Regulations in England, so it is a job for a registered electrician rather than a DIY one.

Source: Electrical Safety First (opens in a new tab)

What Part P means for your electrical job

Part P of the Building Regulations covers electrical safety in homes in England. All electrical work has to meet it, but only some jobs are notifiable: installing a new circuit, replacing a consumer unit, and adding to or altering circuits in a special location such as a room with a bath or shower. Notifiable work is either done by an electrician registered with a competent person scheme, who certifies it and notifies building control, or notified to the council's building control before it starts.