Merton's suburbs and what an EICR finds in them
Merton grew in two waves. Its first suburbs followed the railway in the 19th century, and by 1926 the Underground had reached Colliers Wood, South Wimbledon and Morden. Morden went from a farming community of about 1,000 people in 1900 to a suburb of more than 12,000 within thirty years. Just to the south, the London County Council built the St Helier estate in the early 1930s, straddling the boundary between Morden and Carshalton.
That history shows in the housing. At the 2021 Census, more than a third of Merton households lived in a terraced house and almost one in five in a semi.
Many interwar houses have been rewired at least once, sometimes in stages. An EICR can find a newer consumer unit alongside older lighting circuits without an earth wire, or sockets without RCD protection (the safety switch that cuts the power in a fault). Extensions, loft conversions, garages and garden rooms add circuits of their own, and outdoor sockets should have RCD protection.
After the war, new estates went up at Phipps Bridge, Pollards Hill and High Path. If you let a leasehold flat on an estate like these, the report covers your flat's installation rather than the communal areas.
Letting a property in Merton
About three in ten households rent privately. As a landlord in England you must have the installation inspected and tested at least every five years by a qualified person and give tenants a copy within 28 days. Fix anything coded C1 or C2, and any further investigation the report asks for, within 28 days, or sooner if the report says so. Councils can fine landlords up to £40,000.
Merton's licensing is focused on the east of the borough. Selective licensing covers Figge's Marsh, Graveney, Longthornton and Pollards Hill, and smaller HMOs in those wards plus Colliers Wood, Cricket Green and Lavender Fields need an additional licence. The licence conditions require the fixed wiring to be tested and certified at least every five years, with reports kept and sent to the council within seven days on request.
Booking
Reports for a studio to two-bedroom flat with one consumer unit start at £90 inc VAT, and larger homes are priced by size. Book online or call 07301 010244, and mention outbuildings and extra consumer units.
