Every business has a duty to keep its electrical installation safe. An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) is how you prove it. Here’s what commercial property owners, tenants and managing agents need to know.
The legal duty
The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 require electrical systems in workplaces to be maintained so they don’t cause danger. The law doesn’t set a fixed inspection date, but a periodic EICR carried out by a competent electrician is the recognised way to show you’re meeting that duty. Insurers, landlords, fire risk assessors and local authorities will often ask to see one.
How often?
Industry guidance (IET Guidance Note 3) recommends maximum intervals between inspections based on the type of premises, for example:
- offices and shops: every 5 years
- industrial premises: every 3 years
- premises open to the public, or with harsher environments, may need more frequent checks
The electrician carrying out the EICR will recommend the date of the next inspection based on what they find. Changes of tenant or use are also a good trigger for a fresh inspection.
Keeping the business running
Testing means switching circuits off, which is the main concern for most businesses. We plan commercial EICRs to keep disruption low:
- out-of-hours or weekend testing where trading can’t stop
- circuit-by-circuit isolation, so most of the building stays live
- agreeing critical circuits in advance, such as servers, tills, refrigeration and alarms
- working in phases across larger buildings
What the report tells you
Any defects are recorded with a code:
- C1: danger present, needs immediate action
- C2: potentially dangerous, needs urgent remedial work
- C3: improvement recommended
- FI: further investigation needed
An installation with any C1, C2 or FI is reported as unsatisfactory until the work is done. Our guide to EICR codes explains each one.
Remedials, sorted
We quote clearly for any remedial work, carry it out (out of hours if needed), and issue the paperwork to show the installation is now satisfactory. Common commercial remedials include missing RCD protection, damaged accessories, overloaded or poorly labelled boards and missing fire barriers in containment.
Related checks
While we’re on site, it often makes sense to combine the EICR with emergency lighting and fire alarm checks and PAT testing. For larger electrical upgrades, see our three-phase distribution board case study.
Book a commercial EICR
Positive Contractors is an NICEIC Approved Contractor carrying out EICRs for offices, shops, estate agency branches, restaurants and industrial units across London and Essex. See our EICR and compliance service or call 020 8227 0035 to book an inspection.
We cover London and Essex, with our own engineers working every day across Chigwell, Loughton, Buckhurst Hill, Woodford, Ilford, Romford, Brentwood and Epping.