EICR Before Selling in Chatham, Kent

A pre-sale EICR isn’t legally required to sell your Chatham property, but it’s increasingly common on older stock — particularly where the surveyor on the buyer’s side is likely to flag the electrics. CJA Electrical handles pre-sale EICRs across Chatham and the wider Medway area, with same-week appointments and the report back inside 48 hours.

What an EICR involves for Pre-Sale

Technically, a pre-sale EICR is the same inspection as any other domestic EICR — visual check of the consumer unit and accessible accessories, followed by dead and live testing of every circuit, all to BS 7671:2018+A2:2022. Where it differs is in how the report is used. Landlord EICRs go to tenants and councils; pre-sale EICRs go into the contract pack to pre-empt anything the buyer’s survey might flag. We can supply a plain-English cover note alongside the technical certificate where it’s useful for the vendor’s solicitor.

When you need this in Chatham

Worth thinking about a pre-sale EICR when: Your property is older than the late 1980s and the consumer unit hasn’t been replaced. You’ve owned the property for a long time and there’s no recent inspection on file. You’ve previously sold a property where the buyer’s survey flagged electrics and you don’t want a repeat. The market you’re listing into involves picky buyers (investor, BTL, second-time buyers in Chatham). Or the property’s been recently extended and the audit trail is patchy.

What the report contains

Reports come back as a single PDF — three-part document covering the form, the schedule of inspection, and the test results per circuit. The same format any solicitor expects to see in a contract pack. Unsatisfactory reports come with a remedial-work quote attached. Done well before the buyer’s surveyor visits, this turns a potential renegotiation into a non-issue.

Why book CJA Electrical for your Chatham EICR

The pitch: ten years on Medway domestic property, including period housing in Chatham where pre-sale inspections are most common. Same-week appointments, written report inside 48 hours, remedials quoted clearly so the vendor can decide whether to fix pre-listing or post-offer.

How the inspection runs

Standard pre-sale flow: Conversation about the property and timing. Quote confirms the price. Booking arranged around viewings. Inspection visit. Report supplied as PDF inside 48 hours. Remedial quotes attached where needed. From first call to certificate in your inbox is typically under a week; full inspection-to-clean-certificate cycle (including any remedials) under a fortnight.

What affects the price

Pricing is per property and quoted up front. The variables: how many circuits, consumer unit type and age, accessibility of the consumer unit and meter cupboard, and the overall age of the wiring. Get in touch with the address and the fixed quote comes back the same day.

FAQs

Will the buyer’s mortgage lender ask for an EICR?

Usually not directly — most mortgage valuations are visual and don’t require a specialist electrical inspection. However, if the valuer flags older electrics in their report, the lender may require an EICR before releasing funds. Having one already in the contract pack avoids that delay and the additional cost (which often ends up on the vendor).

How long does a pre-sale EICR take?

The inspection visit on a typical Chatham three-bed home is a morning or an afternoon. The written report follows within 48 hours. Where remedial work is needed, that’s a separate booking — usually a half-day or a day depending on scope, with re-test issued on completion. Whole cycle from first call to clean certificate is typically under a fortnight.

Will the inspection cause much disruption while the property’s on the market?

Minimal. The inspection is non-intrusive — opening accessory faceplates, looking at the consumer unit, examining visible wiring routes — nothing structural and no opening up of walls or floors. Power off briefly on each circuit during testing. Easy to schedule between viewings.

Should I have remedial work done before listing or wait for the buyer to flag it?

Doing it pre-listing is usually the lower-cost path. Buyers who flag electrics post-offer typically want a price reduction, and the price reduction often exceeds the actual cost of the remedial work. Knowing what’s there before you list lets you control the narrative — fix it, price it in, or disclose it on your terms rather than the buyer’s.

Will the EICR check things like the boiler and gas?

No — EICR scope is fixed wiring only. Boiler safety is covered by a separate Gas Safety check (CP12) carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer; the boiler’s wiring and switching is in EICR scope but the boiler itself is not. For pre-sale documentation on a property with a gas boiler, you’d typically have both.

Can I get the EICR done while the property is empty between owners?

Yes — vacant property is the easiest to inspect because access isn’t constrained by a tenant or homeowner’s schedule. We can usually fit empty-property inspections on shorter notice. The certificate names the property and is dated; it’s still valid evidence regardless of whether the property is occupied at inspection.