Serving Bournemouth from Poole
EICR Bournemouth: electrical safety reports for landlords, buyers and sellers
EICRs in Bournemouth from £160
Student lets in Winton. Split villas in Boscombe. A family house for sale in Kinson. One fixed price by circuit count, agreed in writing before we book.
On this page: Prices · What it covers · Areas · Student lets · Converted flats · Buying and selling · Landlord duty · The visit · Codes · Danger found · Questions · Related
Fixed EICR prices in Bournemouth, by circuit count
We charge by the number of circuits on the board. A seafront flat and a Kinson semi with the same count pay the same.
| Circuits | Typical property | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 6 | 1 bed flat | £160 |
| 7 to 10 | 2 to 3 bed home | £210 |
| 11 to 15 | 4 to 5 bed home | £265 |
| 16 or more | Shared house or large property | £345 covers 16, then £20 for each extra circuit |
Each switch on the board is usually one circuit. Leave out the main switch and any surge unit, and add both boards if you have two. Or send a photo and we count for you. More circuits on the day? We price the real count before we test and you choose, as our terms say. No VAT is added.
Old board on a Bournemouth rental? £675 does both jobs
A modern consumer unit with surge protection, fitted in one visit, with the full EICR included in the one flat price. See the fuseboard page, or pick your count on the quote page.
What an EICR covers, and what it cannot tell you
An EICR is an inspection and instrument test of the fixed wiring, the parts that stay with the building. Your Bournemouth report includes:
- The consumer unit, opened and checked for heat marks and loose terminals.
- Every final circuit, measured, with the readings written down.
- Earthing, bonding and RCDs, tested and timed.
- A signed PDF by email, every code in plain words.
It will not tell you:
- Whether the fridge or the tenant's hair dryer is safe. That is appliance testing.
- Anything about the gas boiler or the plumbing.
- How the wiring will be in five years. It is the condition on the day.
The background to each reading is on the EICR guide.
Bournemouth, area by area
Most of Bournemouth was built between the 1880s and the 1930s, then it spread north after the war. The street often tells you the age of the board.
Boscombe. Victorian and Edwardian villas off Christchurch Road, many split into flats and bedsits. Conversions done in stages often leave us working out which circuit belongs to which door.
Southbourne. Edwardian and inter-war houses and bungalows near the cliff top. Salt air is hard on outside lights and garage supplies, so the codes tend to land outdoors.
Winton. Terraces off Wimborne Road, a short ride from the Talbot campus, many let to students. Kitchen sockets work hard and extension leads became permanent years ago.
Charminster. Bay fronted semis and terraces around Charminster Road. Many had a new board fitted while older cable stayed behind it.
Westbourne. Victorian villas and mansion blocks near Seamoor Road, often with the meters for every flat grouped in one shared cupboard.
Kinson. Mostly post-war houses with bigger gardens. Sheds, garages and garden offices fed from the house each add a circuit.
We cover Moordown, Queens Park, Pokesdown, Tuckton and the rest of the town too.
Student lets and shared houses
Bournemouth has two universities, and a lot of housing in Winton, Charminster and Ensbury Park is let to students. Five or six people cooking, charging and heating on the same circuits is hard on a house. The usual finds:
- Kitchen socket circuits doing far more than they were designed for.
- One double socket per bedroom, and multi-way adaptors everywhere.
- Fire alarm circuits added later with no label on the board.
July and August are the easy months: the house is empty and any work is done before the new tenants arrive. Bigger shared houses often need an HMO licence from BCP Council, and our dated report is one of the papers it asks for.
Converted flats: one building, several supplies
A house split into four flats is usually four flat supplies plus a landlord supply for the hall lights and door entry. Each needs its own report. Before we book, we ask:
- How many boards are there? A photo of the meter cupboard answers most of it.
- Who holds the keys to the shared cupboard and each flat?
- Who owns the landlord supply? A freeholder or management company commissions that report.
We test the flats back to back, each priced by its own count. One thing older conversions throw up: a light in one flat fed from the next flat's board. We record it clearly, because a tenant who switches off their own board should know their flat is dead.
Buying or selling a house in Bournemouth
A homebuyer survey looks at the electrics without testing them, and often asks for further investigation. An EICR is that investigation, with a code and a price on each item.
Selling? Test before the buyer's survey goes in, and you decide whether to fix an item or reflect it in the price. Buying? Ask to test before exchange, or book the first week after completion while the house is empty. The buying and selling page covers the paperwork, and the home owners page is for anyone staying put.
The landlord duty in Bournemouth
The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 apply here as everywhere in England. A private landlord must:
- Have the fixed wiring tested at least every five years, or sooner if the last report says so.
- Give the tenants a copy within 28 days of the test.
- Get any required work done, and keep written proof it was finished.
BCP Council can ask to see the report. We keep the date of every report we issue and remind you before the next one is due.
How a Bournemouth visit runs
Pete works from home in Poole, so Bournemouth is a short drive. No office, no subcontractor: the person who prices the job turns up.
- Access sorted first, with you, the agent or the tenant. Key safe codes are fine.
- Board first. Cover off, damage noted before testing starts.
- Power off in stages, so the fridge is not off for hours.
- Everything back on and checked before we leave.
In Boscombe and Westbourne, tell us about permit parking and we plan round it.
Satisfactory, unsatisfactory, and the four codes
Every report ends in one word. Unsatisfactory means at least one item needs action. The codes decide it:
- C1 Dangerous now. Made safe before we leave, then priced for the permanent repair.
- C2 Could become dangerous. Priced line by line. Fails the report until put right.
- C3 Worth improving. Safe as it is. Your choice, and it does not fail the report.
- FI Needs a closer look. Quoted separately. Fails the report until explained.
In Bournemouth's older housing the usual codes are a missing RCD, no bonding to the water pipe, and cable that has run hot at the board. Most are small jobs.
If we find a danger, it does not wait
A C1 means someone could be hurt today, so we make it safe before we leave: an isolated circuit, or a damaged fitting disconnected. It still goes on the report with what we did, and the permanent fix is priced for you to give to anyone. We would rather test four properties in a day than sell work on one, so nothing is coded to fill a quote. If we do the remedials, the retest is included. A circuit that keeps tripping is a fault finding visit at £149.
Bournemouth EICR questions
Asked by landlords, agents, buyers and sellers across the town.
How much is an EICR in Bournemouth?
The price comes from the circuit count on your board, not from your postcode. The table near the top of this page lists every band, from a one bed flat to a large shared house. The figure is fixed in writing before we book, and it does not rise on the day. If the board turns out to have more circuits than you told us, we price the real count before we test and you decide whether to go ahead.
Count your circuits and see the figure on the prices and quote page.
Does each flat in a converted house need its own report?
Yes. A report covers one installation, and each flat with its own consumer unit is its own installation. If the building also has a landlord supply for the hall lights, the door entry or a fire alarm, that is a separate report again, usually commissioned by whoever owns the building. We can test all of them on the same day, and each report carries its own address.
Several flats on one booking is how landlords and agents usually do it.
My student house in Winton has five tenants. Does it need anything extra?
A house shared by five or more people from more than one household normally needs an HMO licence from BCP Council. The licence comes with its own safety conditions, and a current electrical report is one of the papers you will be asked for. We do not handle the licence application. The test itself is the same EICR, priced by circuit count, and shared houses often have two boards or extra fire alarm circuits that add to the count.
Can you test while the students are still living there?
Yes. We agree a time with the tenants, warn them the power will go off in stages, and work round the rooms. Bedrooms need to be reachable, so the tenants need to know we are coming. Many landlords prefer the summer gap between tenancies, when the house is empty, the visit is quicker and any remedial work is finished before the new year group moves in.
How long does an EICR take in a Bournemouth flat?
A one bed flat on a modern board is often done in an hour or two. A two or three bed house is usually a morning. A large shared house with two boards, an outbuilding or a long garden supply can take most of a day. We give you a realistic time when we price it, so nobody waits in for an open ended visit.
Do I need to be there?
No. Plenty of Bournemouth landlords leave a key with the agent or set a key safe code, and we arrange the time with the tenant directly if you give us their number. We need a clear path to the board, the loft hatch and every room. The report reaches you by email either way, so you do not have to take time off to read it.
What happens if the report is unsatisfactory?
You get a written price against each C1, C2 and FI item, and you decide what is done and by whom. A C3 on its own does not fail the report and does not need action. If we do the work, the retest is included and we update the report ourselves, so the file ends up showing satisfactory. If another electrician does it, we can retest on a separate visit.
Often the board is the item. See fuseboard changes.
Is an EICR the same as a PAT test?
No. An EICR tests the fixed wiring: the board, the cables, the sockets, the switches and the lights. A PAT test checks portable appliances, anything with a plug on the end. Landlords are required to have the fixed wiring tested. Appliance testing is not a set legal duty for a private let, though some landlords supply appliances and choose to have both done.
How long is an EICR valid for?
For a private rented home in England, the longest gap is five years. The report can set a shorter date if the installation needs it, and that shorter date is the one to work to. For an owner occupied home there is no legal date. Ten years is a common rhythm, and a new test makes sense whenever you buy a house.
Can you send the report straight to my agent or solicitor?
Yes. Tell us who should have it when you book, and the signed PDF goes to them as well as to you. It carries the property address, the date of the test and the overall outcome, which is what an agent's file and a conveyancing file both need.
More on the sale side at buying and selling.
Get a Bournemouth EICR booked
Pick your circuit count, see the price, and send it over. One flat or a whole street of lets, we book it as a run.