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C1 on your EICR: danger present
A C1 is the most serious code on an electrical report. It means something is dangerous now, so it is dealt with in hours, not weeks. Most C1s are also small, quick and inexpensive to put right.
What a C1 means
C1 means danger present: a risk of injury exists at this moment. Typical examples are live parts that can be touched, a damaged fitting with live conductors exposed, or a burnt or badly overheated connection. Any C1 anywhere in the observations makes the whole report unsatisfactory.
A C1 should have been made safe on the day. Your inspector should have told the person who ordered the report straight away and, where possible, made it safe or isolated the circuit before leaving. If your report has a C1 and you are not sure what was done, call the inspector and ask. Do not use the affected circuit or item until it has been put right, and do not wait for the 28 days to run.
What to do in the first day
Find out exactly what the C1 is and where it is, and what, if anything, was isolated on the day. Keep anything that was switched off switched off, and keep people away from the affected item. Then send the report to someone who can price and fix it. Most C1s come down to one item or one circuit, so the fix is usually quick.
What puts a C1 right
It depends on what the C1 is. A damaged socket, switch or light fitting is replaced (£30 each). An exposed or badly made connection is made safe, and a failed circuit is traced and repaired (£95). A damaged or overheated consumer unit is replaced, which is priced by board size in the table below. We read every C1 on your report and price exactly what it needs, nothing else.
If this is a rented property in England
The regulations require remedial work to be completed within 28 days of the inspection, or sooner if the report says so, and a C1 calls for action straight away. Penalties run to £30,000 per breach, and you cannot start a new tenancy while a C1 is outstanding.
What it costs in London
What a C1 costs depends on what it is. Board work is priced by board size; everything else is the visit plus the items your report lists.
You need a new fuse boardinc VAT
Count the switches on your existing one.
A second board at the same address is £150 less. Two boards is £695 + £545 = £1,240 in one visit, and it is a tick when you book.
Individual circuit protection is an optional extra, £150, £300 or £450 by board size. No call-out charge on a board job.
You don't need a boardinc VAT
Everything else your report flagged.
That covers the visit, testing and the certificate. You then pay only for the items your report actually lists, priced in the next box.
The items themselvesinc VAT
The same price with or without a board.
On a board job the board already covers the attending, so there is no visit fee on top.
Every price includes VAT, materials, labour, full testing, a fresh satisfactory condition report and the completion pack.
That is the price, not a starting point. Only two things move it: an earthing arrangement that must be upgraded first, or a supply where the network operator has to attend. Both agreed in writing before we start.
What you get when the work is done
You should end up holding three things. A fresh Electrical Installation Condition Report for the property, marked satisfactory. Written confirmation that the observations on the original report have been addressed. And, for a rented property, a copy of both to give your tenant, with the council entitled to ask for them within seven days.
You do not normally need a whole new EICR. Written confirmation from whoever did the remedial work is what resolves the report. We issue that as a completion pack, with the observation schedule, the certificate, the signed confirmation and your tenant and council letters already drafted.
Getting a second price is normal
The firm that inspected your property is entitled to quote for the remedial work, and plenty do a fair job of it. But the regulations ask for a qualified and competent person, not a particular company, so you are free to go elsewhere. If you want a price from someone with no involvement in how your report was coded, that is what we do.
A C1 can't wait for the 28 days
Send the report now for a fixed written price within 60 minutes. Most C1s are small jobs, and we tell you which of the other observations you are not legally required to fix.
Related
Every EICR code explained
C1, C2, C3 and FI, and which of them actually make your report fail.
C2: no RCD protection
The most common reason an EICR fails in London, explained, with fixed prices.
FI: further investigation
An unanswered question on your report, and how it gets answered.
Managing a portfolio?
Inspections and remedials on one account, one invoice, evidence filed per property.
Questions landlords ask
What is the difference between a C1 and a C2?
A C1 means danger is present now. A C2 means potentially dangerous: not a risk this minute, but likely to become one. Either one makes the whole report unsatisfactory.
Can I still use the property after a C1?
Do not use the affected circuit or item until it has been made safe. Whether the rest of the property can stay in use depends on what the C1 is, so ask the inspector what was isolated on the day and keep it off.
Can a C1 be fixed on the same day?
Often yes, when it is a damaged fitting, a connection or a single circuit. A consumer unit or a cable run may need booking. We tell you which when we price it from your report.