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FI on your EICR: further investigation required
An FI is not a fault. It is a question the inspector could not answer on the day. The report stays unsatisfactory until someone answers it, and the answer is very often reassuring.
What FI means
FI means further investigation required, without delay. The inspector could not tell whether part of the installation is safe, for example because a circuit could not be identified or traced, a reading did not make sense, or something looked wrong but could not be confirmed during the inspection. An FI anywhere in the observations makes the whole report unsatisfactory, in the same way as a C1 or a C2.
If this is a rented property in England: the regulations cover further investigative work as well as repairs. It must be carried out within 28 days of the inspection, or sooner if the report says so. You cannot start a new tenancy while an FI is outstanding.
What the investigation involves
A qualified electrician traces and tests whatever the inspector could not resolve, using the report to start from. There are only two outcomes. Either there is nothing wrong and the observation is closed with the evidence to show it, or the investigation finds a real problem, which is coded as a C1, C2 or C3 and put right in the normal way.
What it costs
The cost depends on what the report asks to be investigated. Where the investigation finds a fault, tracing and repairing a circuit fault is £95. If it finds the board needs replacing, that is priced by board size in the table below. We read the FI wording on your report and tell you in writing what we will do and what it will cost before we start.
What it costs in London
Investigations are priced from your report. Board work is priced by board size; everything else is the visit plus the items listed.
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.
Get your FI answered before the deadline
An FI keeps the whole report unsatisfactory until someone investigates, and the answer is often reassuring. Send the report for a fixed written price within 60 minutes; we tell you which 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.
C1: danger present
What a C1 means, what should happen on the day, and how fast to act.
C2: no RCD protection
The most common reason an EICR fails in London, explained, with fixed prices.
Managing a portfolio?
Inspections and remedials on one account, one invoice, evidence filed per property.
Questions landlords ask
Is an FI a failure?
The report is unsatisfactory while an FI is open. It is a failure to confirm safety rather than proof of a fault, and it is cleared by investigating.
Does the inspecting firm have to do the investigation?
No. The regulations ask for a qualified and competent person, not a particular company. You can use the firm that inspected, or anyone with the competence to do the work.
What happens if the investigation finds nothing?
You get written confirmation that the FI has been investigated and closed. Together with the rest of the remedial work, that resolves the unsatisfactory report.