Suburban houses and the wiring behind them
Two in five of Bexley's homes were built between 1919 and 1939, according to council tax records, and at the 2021 Census more than four in ten households lived in a semi-detached house. Nearly seven in ten owned their home.
Houses from that era were built long before today's wiring standard, BS 7671, so the electrics in them now are the product of one or more rewires plus everything added since: kitchen and loft extensions, conservatories, garages, garden offices, outside lights and sockets. An EICR follows each of those circuits. Things an electrician commonly checks in these homes include:
- whether the consumer unit gives RCD protection to sockets and lights; an RCD is the safety switch that trips when electricity leaks where it shouldn't;
- the main earth, and bonding to incoming gas and water pipes;
- cables to garages and garden buildings, and any outdoor sockets;
- old wiring left in place when a house was only partly rewired.
Selling or buying a home
No law requires an EICR when you sell your own home, but it gives your buyer a clear picture of the electrics and lets you put problems right on your own terms rather than negotiate over them later. If you are buying, you can ask the seller for a recent report, or arrange an inspection with their permission before you exchange.
Letting a property in Bexley
Licensing in Bexley is narrow. Belvedere, where council modelling put about a third of homes in the private rented sector, has a selective scheme until 12 January 2030 covering almost every private let, including smaller shared houses. Across the rest of the borough, only HMOs with five or more people need a licence.
The national duty applies in every ward. A private landlord in England must have the electrical installation inspected and tested at least every five years by a qualified and competent person, give the tenants a copy of the report, and complete work on any C1 or C2 items, plus any further investigation the report asks for, within 28 days, or sooner if the report says so. The council can fine a landlord up to £40,000 for a breach.
