Landlord EICR in Gravesend

CJA Electrical does landlord EICR work across Gravesend and the wider Gravesham area — private landlords with one or two rentals, accidental landlords renting out a former main residence, and letting agents managing multi-property portfolios. The 2020 PRS regulations set the cycle (every 5 years and at the start of any new tenancy) and the consequences for non-compliance (civil penalties up to £30,000 from Gravesham Borough Council). The work runs out of Rochester and Gravesend sits within a 25-minute reach.

What Landlord EICR actually is

Landlord EICRs are governed by the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020. The inspection and the technical standards are the same as any other EICR — BS 7671:2018+A2:2022, observation codes, dead and live testing — but the regulations layer on top a defined cycle (5 years), a defined documentation flow (tenants and council get copies), and defined consequences (civil penalties up to £30,000 for non-compliance). The inspector’s job is the same regardless of who’s commissioning the work. What’s different is the paperwork and the deadlines — keeping the cycle on schedule, getting the certificate to the tenant inside 28 days, supplying it to the council if asked.

When you need Landlord EICR in Gravesend

The 5-yearly cycle plus new-tenancy rule is the headline. The practical scheduling reality for most Gravesend landlords is a rolling diary — set a reminder a couple of months before the certificate expires and book the re-test in good time so any remedials don’t bump the property into out-of-compliance territory at the renewal date. Letting agents typically manage this on behalf of the landlord via a portfolio diary; private landlords often track it via the expiry date on their last certificate. Either way, getting the inspection done a couple of months ahead of expiry gives breathing room for any remedials needed before the deadline actually bites.

Standards and what compliance looks like

The two pieces of paperwork that matter on a landlord EICR are the certificate itself (signed against BS 7671:2018+A2:2022) and the schedule of test results (the appendix recording each individual circuit’s test measurements). Both go to the tenant within 28 days of the inspection and to the council within 7 days of any request. Standards-wise, landlord EICRs aren’t held to a different technical bar than owner-occupied EICRs — same Wiring Regulations, same observation codes, same testing tolerances. The difference is the regulatory wrapper: defined cycle, defined paper trail, defined penalties.

Testing schedule and remedials

What gets tested on a landlord EICR: every circuit running off the consumer unit (lighting, sockets, immersion, cooker, shower, boiler), every accessible accessory (sockets, switches, light fittings, fan isolators), the consumer unit itself (visual inspection of devices and connections), and the main earthing and bonding at the intake. Common findings on Gravesend rental property: ageing consumer units missing RCD protection on lighting circuits; loose backbox screws on tenant-occupied properties (where wear and tear has shifted faceplates); unprotected cable runs in lofts where tenants have been into the loft for storage; cracked switch plates from impact damage. Most are C2 or C3 — fixable, not catastrophic.

Why Gravesend property owners book CJA Electrical

The repeat business that drives most CJA Electrical landlord work in Gravesend comes from agents and portfolio landlords who use us across multiple properties. Once we’re set up on a portfolio diary, the rolling 5-yearly cycle handles itself — the agent gets a heads-up a couple of months ahead of each expiry, the inspection is booked direct with the tenant, and the certificate goes to the agent for landlord and council distribution. For private landlords with a single property or two, the process is the same just at smaller scale: book the inspection, do the work, supply the certificate, handle any remedials. Same-day quotes for new bookings, same-week appointments, transparent pricing.

How the work runs

First contact: phone call, email, or WhatsApp to confirm the property details (address, size, rough age of consumer unit) and the access route (direct with tenant, or via agent). Most quotes are confirmed on that initial call as a fixed price. Booking: tenant access arranged via the agent or directly with the tenant. We work around tenant schedules — most testing visits land in a single morning or afternoon. Re-test appointments after remedials are scheduled at the same time for continuity. Reporting: PDF inside 48 hours, supplied to the landlord, the agent, or both. If unsatisfactory, remedial work is quoted line-by-line against the report observations, and a re-test is booked once the work is done.

What affects the price

Landlord EICR pricing is fixed-price for most Gravesend domestic rental property. The price is driven by circuit count more than floor area — a small flat with 6-8 circuits is at one end, a larger detached house with multiple consumer units and 20+ circuits is at the other. Portfolio landlords and letting agents get bulk pricing where it makes sense — same-day testing of multiple properties near each other, or scheduled blocks of work across a portfolio where we can build a route. Remedial work is always quoted separately so the EICR price stays clean and predictable.

FAQs

Will the inspection disrupt my tenant?

Minimally. The on-site time is half a day for a typical three-bed home. Brief power-downs during dead testing are a few minutes per circuit. The tenant doesn’t need to stay in for the whole visit — just to provide access at the start. We work quietly and leave the property exactly as we found it.

How fast can I get a certificate if I need one urgently?

Same-week is standard. If a tenant move-in or insurance renewal deadline is tight, we can usually fit an inspection in within 24-48 hours of booking. Reports are turned around same-evening or next-morning where the deadline calls for it — just let us know up front.

Do I need a separate certificate for each property in my portfolio?

Yes. Each rental property needs its own EICR — addresses, circuit details, and observations are property-specific. For portfolio landlords with several properties due at the same time, we can schedule the visits efficiently and bulk-deliver the certificates so the agent has the full portfolio in hand at once.

What about EICRs for HMOs?

HMO landlord EICRs follow the same 5-yearly cycle as ordinary rented homes, but typically also align with the HMO licence cycle issued by Gravesham Borough Council. HMOs often have shared common-parts circuits (corridor lighting, fire alarm interface, escape route lighting) that get tested separately. We work to whatever the council specifically requires for the licence renewal.

Do I have to do an EICR every 5 years on a rental?

Yes. Since June 2020, every privately rented home in England must have a satisfactory EICR every 5 years and at the start of each new tenancy. The certificate must be supplied to tenants within 28 days of the inspection and to Gravesham Borough Council on request within 7 days.