Interwar houses and the Becontree Estate
The London County Council began building the Becontree Estate in 1921, and it was once the largest housing estate in the world. Council tax records show that about half of the borough's homes date from 1919 to 1939, and at the 2021 Census two in five households lived in a terraced house.
A century on, the electrics in these interwar houses have usually been rewired at least once, and many homes have grown: kitchen and bathroom extensions, loft conversions, garages and garden rooms. Every addition brings new circuits or extends old ones, which is where an EICR earns its keep. In houses like these, an inspection usually looks closely at:
- the consumer unit, and whether circuits have RCD protection, the safety switch that cuts the power in a fault;
- main bonding to gas and water pipes, which is easily disturbed when a boiler or pipework is changed;
- circuits run out to extensions, lofts and outbuildings, and how those cables are protected;
- sockets, switches and light fittings, for heat damage, wear or loose fixings.
If you let a newer flat, the Electrical Installation Certificate issued when it was built counts for the first five years; the first EICR is due when that period ends.
Letting a property in Barking and Dagenham
Licensing here reaches almost every private let. A selective scheme has applied in all 19 wards since 6 April 2025, and an additional scheme for smaller HMOs started on 9 January 2025. The online application asks you to upload an EICR, and the council inspects each property before a licence is granted, so it pays to have the report done and any remedial work finished first.
The licence sits on top of the national rules. If you let privately in England, you must have the electrical installation inspected and tested by a qualified and competent person at least every five years, hand your tenants a copy of the report, and deal with any C1 or C2 items, plus any further investigation it asks for, within 28 days or sooner if the report says so. The maximum council penalty for a breach is £40,000.
A studio to two-bed flat with one consumer unit starts from £90 inc VAT; larger homes are priced by size.
