EICR in Longfield

CJA Electrical does EICR testing across Longfield and the wider Dartford area — landlords ahead of a new tenancy or a 5-yearly recheck, homeowners buying or selling or just due an inspection, and anyone who’s noticed warm sockets, frequent tripping, or a burning smell they can’t explain. Longfield sits within the 30-minute working radius of our Rochester base, so site visits are tight to the diary and reports come back inside 48 hours.

What EICR actually is

An EICR is a formal inspection and test of the fixed wiring in a property — the consumer unit, every circuit running off it, every accessible socket, switch, and light fitting. The output is a written report with observation codes against anything that’s not satisfactory: C1 for immediate danger, C2 for potentially dangerous (also a fail), C3 for improvement recommended, FI for further investigation required. A satisfactory report has no C1 or C2 observations. A property with C3 observations alone still passes. The report is what landlords need for the PRS regulations, what surveyors check on sale, and what insurers reference when validating a claim.

When you need EICR in Longfield

The triggers we see most often on Longfield EICR enquiries: landlord on the 5-yearly cycle (the largest single category); a tenancy changeover where the agent or landlord wants a fresh report; a pre-sale where the vendor wants documentation on the contract pack; a buyer who’s had the surveyor flag the electrics on a Level 2 or Level 3 report; an insurance renewal requiring current documentation; and homeowners who haven’t had the property tested for a decade or more. For older period property in Dartford, sometimes it’s a fault that prompts the booking — a circuit that keeps tripping, a socket that’s stopped working, a burning smell from the consumer unit. We’ll often diagnose the immediate fault on the visit and roll into a full EICR while we’re there.

Standards and what compliance looks like

The two regulatory references that matter on a Longfield EICR are BS 7671 (the technical standard the inspection works to) and, for rental property, the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 (the law requiring landlords to have a current report). The current edition of BS 7671 is the 18th Edition with Amendment 2 (2022). Reports reference the edition in force at the date of inspection. The PRS regulations require the certificate to be supplied to tenants within 28 days of the inspection and to Dartford Borough Council on request within 7 days.

Fittings and where they go

Inspection scope is “what’s accessible without destruction” — we don’t lift floorboards or break into walls. The consumer unit comes off, every socket and switch plate is checked visually, every light fitting that’s reachable is inspected, and we go into lofts, cellars, outbuildings, and meter cupboards where they exist. For the hidden parts of the installation — buried cables, junctions inside walls — the live testing catches structural faults via insulation resistance (low values mean cable damage or moisture ingress) and earth fault loop impedance (high values mean a poor earth path). The combination of visual and test results is what builds the picture of installation condition.

Testing schedule and remedials

The standard test sequence is set out in BS 7671 Part 6: inspection first, then dead tests, then live tests. Dead testing happens with the circuit fully isolated — continuity of the protective conductor, insulation resistance (typically measured at 500 V DC, looking for >1 MΩ to pass), polarity confirmation, and ring continuity on ring final socket circuits. Live testing happens with the supply restored — earth fault loop impedance (Zs) on every circuit, prospective fault current at the origin, and RCD trip-time testing on every RCD-protected circuit at both 1× and 5× the rated trip current. Every measurement gets recorded on the schedule of test results.

Why Longfield property owners book CJA Electrical

CJA Electrical is based in Rochester and covers EICR work across Dartford from there. Longfield sits within the 30-minute working radius — close enough that scheduling is tight, return visits for remedial work are easy, and you’re dealing with someone who knows the local stock. We do mostly residential EICR plus increasingly commercial fixed-wire work as the client base has grown. Qualifications: City & Guilds 2391 (Inspection & Testing), 2382 (18th Edition Wiring Regulations), and 2365 (Diploma in Electrical Installation). Calibrated test equipment. Certificates supplied as PDF inside 48 hours. Remedial work quoted separately so the price is clear and you can plan the budget.

How the work runs

Booking, inspection, report, remedials. Booking is a five-minute call or message — we need property details (size, type, rough age) and any access constraints (tenant in residence, agent involvement). Quote follows immediately for standard domestic EICR; capped quote after a site visit for larger or unusual installations. Inspection is scheduled for the next available slot (usually inside a week). Half a day on site for most Longfield domestic property. Reports are drafted on the day, finalised within 48 hours, and supplied as a PDF. Remedials, if needed, are quoted line-by-line against the report observations.

What affects the price

The two factors that move Longfield EICR pricing are circuit count (more circuits = more testing time) and complexity (multiple consumer units, outbuildings, three-phase supplies on commercial property). For straightforward domestic property, the price band is well-established and quoted up-front. What we don’t do: deposits, hidden fees, or surprise charges on the day. The fixed price is what you pay, invoiced on completion. Remedials are separate so the EICR price is the EICR price.

FAQs

How long does an EICR take?

Half a day for a typical Longfield three-bed home. Smaller flats can be done in a couple of hours; larger properties with multiple consumer units or extensive outbuildings can take a full day. We give a realistic estimate at quoting stage based on circuit count and access.

Do I need to be present during the inspection?

For owner-occupied property, ideally yes — there’ll be brief power-downs as each circuit is tested, and someone needs to be aware in case sensitive equipment needs warning. For tenanted property, tenant access can be arranged via the letting agent or directly with the tenant; landlord attendance isn’t necessary.

What’s the difference between a Satisfactory and Unsatisfactory report?

A satisfactory report has no C1 (immediate danger) or C2 (potentially dangerous) observations. C3 observations (improvement recommended) on their own don’t fail the report. An unsatisfactory report means C1 or C2 observations are present and the installation needs remedial work to bring it back to compliance.

Can you do remedial work on the same visit?

Sometimes — minor remedials (replacing a damaged socket face, tightening a loose connection, fitting a missing blanking plate) can be done on the inspection visit if time and parts allow. Larger remedial work (consumer unit replacement, recircuiting, additional RCD protection) is quoted separately and scheduled as a follow-up.

Will the inspection damage anything?

No. The tests are non-destructive. Insulation resistance and earth fault loop are low-current measurements that don’t stress the installation. Most of the on-site work is visual inspection plus brief electrical testing on each circuit. The only disruption is the short power-downs during dead testing.

How quickly can I get a report after the inspection?

PDF inside 48 hours of testing completing. We can usually turn it around faster (same evening, next morning) if there’s a deadline — landlord renewal, sale exchange, insurance renewal — and we just need to know the deadline up front.