Camden's flats and what an EICR covers
Camden is a borough of flats. Almost nine in ten homes (87%) are flats or maisonettes, and nearly half of all homes were built before 1919. The mix runs from Georgian and Victorian terraces split into flats, through mansion blocks and post-war council estates, to new developments; about one home in eight dates from 2000 or later.
In a period house divided into flats, the report for each flat should say exactly which circuits and which consumer unit (the fuse board) it covers. Basement and top-floor flats can have long cable runs back to meters in the hall, and decades of alterations can leave old and new wiring side by side. The inspector tests each circuit, checks main bonding — the earth connections to incoming gas and water pipes — and records whether sockets and bathroom circuits have RCD protection, the safety switch that cuts the power in a fault.
Mansion blocks and estate flats work differently. The rising main that carries power up through the building belongs to the freeholder or the network operator, and the stair and landing lights to the freeholder, so your EICR starts at your flat's own meter or main switch. Older blocks can hide original wiring in solid walls and consumer units in hallway cupboards. Newer flats are often simpler to inspect, but they still need a report every five years once let.
Letting a property in Camden
If you let to one household, you don't need a Camden licence, because there is no selective scheme. The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 still apply. The installation needs inspecting and testing by a qualified person at least every five years. Give tenants a copy within 28 days, new tenants before they move in, and the council a copy within seven days if it asks. Put right anything coded C1 or C2 — and any further investigation the report asks for — within 28 days, or sooner if the report says so. Camden can fine landlords who break these rules up to £40,000.
Shared homes are licensed borough-wide, including shared flats in purpose-built blocks, and the HMO licence conditions require a current electrical test certificate.
Access in blocks
In a mansion block or on an estate, the meter cupboard is often locked, so ask the porter or managing agent for access before the visit. Whatever the building, a studio to two-bedroom flat with one consumer unit starts from £90 inc VAT.
