Electrical survey before buying a house
Most homebuyer reports look at the electrics from the hallway with a torch. If the property is older, that is not a survey — an EICR is. Here is the difference, and how to use it before you exchange.
What a homebuyer report says about electrics
A RICS HomeBuyer report is non-intrusive: the surveyor inspects what can be seen without lifting floorboards, removing fittings or testing circuits. Expect a traffic-light rating and wording like "the consumer unit appears dated; a full inspection by a registered electrician is recommended".
That is a signal, not an assessment. It cannot tell you whether the earthing arrangement is adequate, whether insulation resistance has degraded, or whether the RCD actually trips within the required time.
What an EICR adds
| Homebuyer survey | EICR (inspection & testing) | |
|---|---|---|
| Access | Visual, no dismantling | Samples accessories and inspection points; dead and live testing |
| Instruments | None | Insulation resistance, continuity, loop impedance (Zs), RCD trip times, polarity |
| Output | Condition rating and recommendations | Schedule of circuits plus observations coded C1, C2, C3, FI |
| Useful for | Overall condition, budget planning | Deciding whether to buy, renegotiate, or walk away |
When it is worth commissioning one
- Pre-1990s wiring, or unknown history. Rubber or early PVC cables, fuse boards with rewireable fuses, no RCD protection.
- Recent DIY alterations — extra sockets, a loft conversion, an outdoor supply with no paperwork.
- A consumer unit with no RCD, or one that has clearly been swapped without a certificate.
- You plan to let the property. A landlord needs a satisfactory EICR before a new tenancy anyway, so you may as well know before you buy.
How to read the result in a negotiation
Codes are not a repair list, they are a risk ranking:
- C1 — danger present. Immediate risk; the report will recommend isolating the circuit. Treat as a must-fix before occupation.
- C2 — potentially dangerous. Urgent remedial work. This is the code that most often justifies a price adjustment, because it usually means a consumer-unit upgrade or circuit work.
- C3 — improvement recommended. Not a defect; use for forward planning, not negotiation.
- FI — further investigation. The electrician could not determine condition without opening something up. Budget for the investigation.
Ask for the actual observation text, not just "satisfactory / unsatisfactory". Sellers sometimes commission a report and quote only the overall verdict — the C2 lines are what you need to price the remedials.
Practical sequence before exchange
- Offer accepted → ask the seller for any existing EICR, EIC and building-regulation certificates. Free, and sometimes enough if recent.
- No recent report → commission an EICR through the buyer's access arrangement, with the seller's consent.
- Get quotes for the C1/C2 items while you are still inside the negotiation window.
- Decide: proceed, renegotiate against quotes, or walk. Do this before exchange, not after completion.