Islington homes and what an EICR looks at
More than eight in ten Islington homes (83%) are flats, and 43% of homes were built before 1919. That covers Georgian and Victorian terraces divided into flats, post-war and 1970s council estates, and blocks built since 2000, which make up almost a fifth of homes.
In a converted terrace, the EICR for your flat should say exactly which consumer unit (the fuse board) and circuits it covers, and list anything the inspector couldn't reach. Many questions come from how the house was split: a meter in a shared basement, cables running through a neighbour's flat, or kitchen circuits extended when rooms were moved around. Every circuit is tested, and the report records whether it has RCD protection — the safety switch that cuts the power in a fault.
If your flat is in a block owned by the council or a housing association, your EICR covers your flat's installation from its meter and consumer unit onwards; the stairwell lighting and the rising main are the freeholder's. Flats built in the last twenty years often have modern boards with RCDs, but changes since then — a kitchen refit, extra sockets, a new electric shower — are worth pointing out to the inspector.
Licensing in Islington is changing
From 23 November 2026, selective licensing extends to Barnsbury, Caledonian, Highbury, Junction, Laycock, Mildmay and Tufnell Park, joining Finsbury Park, Hillrise and Tollington. If you let a home in those wards to one or two people or a single household, you need a licence, and the council's checklist includes an EICR. Islington's selective licence conditions also require you to give tenants a copy of a valid report, or display one in the common parts.
The licence sits on top of the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020. Under them, a qualified person inspects and tests the installation at least every five years. Tenants get the report within 28 days, new tenants before they move in, and the council within seven days of asking. Anything coded C1 or C2 — and any further investigation the report asks for — must be done within 28 days, or sooner if the report says so. Breaches can cost up to £40,000 in fines.
If your report falls due before you apply, a studio to two-bedroom flat with one consumer unit starts from £90 inc VAT.
