EICR for Landlords in Rainham, Kent

CJA Electrical carries out landlord EICRs across Rainham and the surrounding Medway area, working from our base in Rochester. The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 require every privately rented home in England to hold a satisfactory EICR — five-yearly cycle, copy to tenants within 28 days, and Medway Council able to enforce penalties up to £30,000 per breach. This page covers what a landlord EICR actually involves in Rainham and what booking the work with us looks like in practice.

What an EICR involves for Landlord

Technically a landlord EICR is identical to any domestic EICR — what differs is what the audit trail has to support. The inspection and testing follows BS 7671:2018+A2:2022, with a thorough visual check of the consumer unit, accessible accessories, and visible wiring, followed by dead and live testing of every circuit. The deliverable is the EICR form, a schedule of inspection (what was checked, what couldn’t be), and a schedule of test results (numbers per circuit). All three are needed for the certificate to satisfy Medway Council or a tenant request.

When you need this in Rainham

There’s no point waiting for Medway Council to ask before booking — the paperwork is much easier when the certificate is sitting on file before anyone requests it. Common reasons Rainham landlords get in touch: A new tenancy is starting. The existing certificate is approaching expiry. A tenant has flagged something electrical (repeated trips, an unusual smell at a socket, lights that flicker). The property’s just been bought at auction or via probate and the paperwork is incomplete. The letting agent has changed and is auditing what’s missing across the portfolio.

What the report contains

A complete landlord EICR has more than one page. The full deliverable is the EICR form itself with the inspection date, the inspector’s qualifications, the property address, observation codes against any findings, and the overall pass-or-fail outcome. Alongside that sits the schedule of inspection (what was checked, what could not be) and the schedule of test results (per-circuit numbers for continuity, insulation resistance, polarity, earth fault loop impedance, and RCD operating times). Where the report comes back unsatisfactory, the 2020 regulations require the remedial work to be completed within 28 days — sooner if the inspector specifies. Once it’s done, a re-test confirms the affected circuits are satisfactory and a fresh report is issued.

Why book CJA Electrical for your Rainham EICR

What landlords look for in an EICR partner is predictable: someone who’ll show up when they say, who knows the regulations, and who’ll write a report that Medway Council accepts without fuss. CJA Electrical does all three. City & Guilds 2391 qualified inspector, ten years on Medway property, same-week appointments, and reports in the format every council, agent, and PRS Database expects. For agents managing portfolios in Rainham, we batch bookings on the same day or week to keep travel costs down — useful when several properties are coming due at once.

How the inspection runs

Booking flow: Phone call or WhatsApp triage — what kind of property, how many circuits, who has the keys. Quote out the same day. Confirmed appointment with the tenant or agent. Visit on the day. Report in the inbox within 48 hours. Remedials, if any are needed, quoted clearly with the option to decline. From first call to certificate in your inbox is typically four working days. Tighter is possible when the void week or the council deadline demands it.

What affects the price

We don’t publish a price list because the variables genuinely matter — circuit count, consumer unit type, accessibility, and the property’s age all shift the quote. Rainham stock varies, so a small terrace and a four-bed semi in the same postcode can be quite different jobs. Same-day fixed quote, no deposit on standard work, payment on certificate by card, transfer, or cash.

FAQs

How quickly do my Rainham tenants need a copy of the report?

Existing tenants receive a copy within 28 days of the inspection. New tenants receive the report before they take occupation of the property. We can email the PDF direct to your tenant or to your letting agent for onward distribution.

Will the EICR cause much disruption for my tenant?

Less than people often expect. Most three-bed homes are tested in a morning or an afternoon. Power is off only briefly on each circuit in turn rather than for the whole visit, so a tenant working from home can usually carry on with most of their day. We confirm a slot in advance and give the tenant a clear picture of what to expect.

What happens if my Rainham rental fails the EICR?

A failed EICR isn’t a disaster — it just means there’s at least one C1, C2, or FI observation. The report lists each item with its code. CJA Electrical can quote separately for the remedial work, and once it’s done a re-test confirms the installation is satisfactory and a fresh report is issued. The regulations require this within 28 days of the inspection.

Do I have to use the same electrician for the EICR and any remedial work?

No. The 2020 regulations require the remedial work to be done by a qualified and competent person and confirmed in writing — but they don’t require the same electrician. Most landlords have the original inspector do the remedials for the simpler audit trail and faster re-test, but you’re free to instruct anyone qualified.

Can I do remedial work myself if I’m a competent person?

If you hold the relevant qualifications and the work falls within your competence, technically yes. The 2020 regulations require written confirmation of the remedial work from a qualified and competent person, which can be the landlord if appropriately qualified. Most landlords have us do it for the speed and audit trail.

Does the report need to be in a specific format?

The 2020 regulations don’t mandate a single format, but the standard EICR form is universally accepted by councils, letting agents, the Private Rented Sector Database, and insurers. Reports issued in non-standard formats can lead to pushback from Medway Council or your agent — so the standard form is what we use.