Electrical Certificates When Selling a House

You do not normally need an Electrical Installation Condition Report to sell an owner-occupied house in England or Wales. You should, however, gather the electrical records you already hold and answer your conveyancer's questions accurately. An EICR reports the condition of the fixed installation now. It does not recreate a missing certificate for work completed in the past.

For a Cirencester seller, the useful first step is to identify the work that was done and the record that should have followed it. Do that before booking a test or asking an electrician to "sign off" somebody else's work. If the question is about the present condition of the wiring, JI Electrical's EICR service for Cirencester and the Cotswolds is the relevant route.

Which electrical document does a seller need?

The names are similar, but the documents answer different questions. The IET publishes separate model forms for an EIC, Minor Works Certificate and EICR. The electrical certificates after a rewire guide explains the handover records in more detail.

Is an EICR compulsory when selling a house?

For an ordinary owner-occupied sale in England and Wales, no. The Law Society's current TA6 explanatory notes state that an EICR is not a legal requirement for the sale of a property in England and Wales. The notes still ask sellers about electrical installation work and the records they hold.

The GOV.UK guide to selling a home tells sellers to gather electrical checks and Building Regulations records, and says they may consider having an EICR carried out. "May consider" is not the same as a compulsory sale certificate.

A buyer, conveyancer, surveyor or lender can still raise a specific enquiry. Their request does not change the purpose of each electrical document. Ask what question needs answering before paying for anything. Your legal representative should advise on the conveyancing response, while an electrician can advise on the electrical scope and current condition.

Answer the TA6 questions from evidence

The Property Information Form, commonly called the TA6, is completed by the seller to the best of their knowledge. Its electrical section asks about installation work and relevant certificates. Gather evidence before answering rather than relying on memory or describing all electrical paperwork as "Part P".

Create a simple timeline with:

1. What changed: for example, a rewire, consumer unit replacement, new circuit, extension wiring, bathroom alteration or EV charging point.
2. When it was done: the approximate month and year, supported by invoices or messages where possible.
3. Who completed it: the contractor's trading name and any scheme details shown on the paperwork.
4. Which records exist: EIC, Minor Works Certificate, Building Regulations record, EICR, quotation and invoice.
5. What happened later: any remedial work, alteration or more recent inspection.

Electrical installation work in homes must comply with Part P of the Building Regulations, but not every job is notifiable. The current Approved Document P explains the requirements for dwellings in England. GOV.UK lists a new or replacement consumer unit, a new circuit and alterations around a bath or shower among examples of work that normally needs notification unless the authorised installer route is used.

Do not guess whether old work was notifiable from the invoice title alone. The date, location and exact work matter, and notification rules have changed. Give the paperwork and what you know to your conveyancer. If the technical description is unclear, ask the original contractor to identify the work rather than rewriting the history yourself.

A notifiable job can produce two different records

For relevant work completed through a registered competent-person route, the electrical contractor should provide the electrical certificate and arrange the Building Regulations notification. The Planning Portal's electrical safety guidance describes the distinction: the electrician provides an Electrical Installation Certificate, while the customer should also receive a Building Regulations compliance certificate for notifiable work.

This is why one document should not be described as a substitute for the other. An EIC and its schedules record the electrical work and test results. The compliance record deals with the Building Regulations route. The GOV.UK home building work guide says these compliance records can be important when a property is sold.

If you are preparing a sale after a rewire or consumer unit replacement, check the document description, property address, date, contractor details and attached schedules. A photograph of the first page is less useful than the complete record. The consumer unit upgrade guide includes the wider assessment and handover points that should accompany that work.

What to do when an electrical certificate is missing

Do not start by ordering a random report. Use this recovery order:

1. Search the property file. Check paper folders, email attachments, invoices, previous conveyancing packs and documents supplied when you bought the home.
2. Contact the original contractor. Give the property address, approximate date and description of the work. Ask whether they can supply a genuine copy of the record they issued.
3. Contact the named scheme operator. GOV.UK says that if a competent-person compliance certificate is not received, the relevant operator may be able to help. Use the operator shown on the existing paperwork, not an assumed scheme.
4. Check the building control route. If the work was handled through building control, ask the relevant body what record it holds. Do not describe an absence from one search as proof that no compliant route was used.
5. Tell your conveyancer what is missing. They can advise what response is appropriate for the transaction. An electrician cannot decide the legal treatment of missing Building Regulations paperwork.
6. Commission only the assessment that answers the remaining question. If the concern is the present condition of the fixed wiring, an EICR may be useful. It is not retrospective certification of the original work.

A current electrician should not backdate a certificate or claim responsibility for design and installation work they did not carry out. They can inspect and test the existing installation within an agreed EICR scope, or certify new work that they actually complete. For comparing a proposed inspection or remedial quotation, use the seven checks before booking an electrician.

When can a pre-sale EICR be useful?

An EICR can provide current evidence where the fixed installation's condition is the real question. It may be useful when a survey recommends specialist inspection, the seller knows of repeated electrical problems, there is no recent condition report, or the buyer requests an inspection before exchange. The Electrical Safety First guide to periodic inspection and testing explains that the report covers the condition of an existing installation and records damage, deterioration, defects and dangerous conditions.

Agree who is instructing the electrician, the access available and who will receive the complete report. If the buyer wants independent advice, they may prefer to appoint the inspector. The home buyer EICR guide separates an electrical inspection from a home survey and lender valuation.

An EICR is not a promise that no future defect will occur and it should not be marketed as a generic "sale pass". It records the observed condition, agreed extent, limitations, observations and test results on the inspection date. Read any C1, C2, C3 or FI classification in the context of the full report. The EICR code guide explains that distinction.

What if the pre-sale EICR is unsatisfactory?

First deal with any immediate danger and ask the inspector to explain the observations, affected circuits, test evidence and limitations. An unsatisfactory result does not automatically prove that the property needs a full rewire or new consumer unit. The work should be scoped from the findings.

Your conveyancer should advise how the result affects the sale, disclosure and any agreement with the buyer. Keep electrical safety decisions separate from the commercial negotiation. If work is completed, retain the original EICR with the correct completion records. The failed EICR action plan explains that report-to-repair trail, while the full or partial rewire guide shows why installation evidence, not age alone, should set the scope.

A tenanted sale needs separate attention. Existing landlord electrical safety duties may still apply before, during and after the sale, depending on the tenancy and transaction. Use the landlord EICR guide for Cirencester for the current inspection, copy and remedial-work duties, then take transaction advice from the appropriate property professional.

Electrical paperwork checklist before marketing

• List electrical work completed during your ownership, with dates and contractors where known.
• Keep each Electrical Installation Certificate or Minor Works Certificate complete with its schedules.
• Match notifiable work to its Building Regulations compliance or building control record.
• Include the latest complete EICR and evidence of any later remedial work.
• Give your conveyancer facts and documents, not assumptions about what a buyer will accept.
• If current condition needs checking, define the EICR scope and make suitable access available.

JI Electrical lists its current work on the electrical services page and provides EICRs for homeowners, buyers, landlords and businesses in Cirencester and the Cotswolds. To discuss a current-condition report, use the contact options and send the property type, approximate size, occupancy, sale stage and any electrical records already available.

Sources checked for this guide

• GOV.UK: How to sell a home
• Law Society: TA6 sixth edition explanatory notes
• GOV.UK: Building work, replacements and repairs to your home
• GOV.UK: Approved Document P
• Planning Portal: checking electrical work for safety
• IET: model electrical forms
• Electrical Safety First: periodic inspection and testing