The short answer
In London and the South East, a domestic Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) usually costs between £100 and £250 including VAT for a typical flat or house, rising to £300–£500 for a licensed HMO and more for commercial premises. Prices in inner London tend to sit towards the top of the national range because of parking, congestion charges and travel time.
Our own fixed prices are published on our EICR testing page: £109 for a studio or 1-bed, £139 for a 2–3 bed home and from £189 for a 4+ bed property or HMO, all including VAT.
Typical EICR prices by property size
- Studio or 1-bed flat (up to around 6 circuits): £90–£150. Usually 1.5–2 hours on site.
- 2–3 bed flat or house (up to around 12 circuits): £130–£220. Usually 2.5–4 hours.
- 4–5 bed house: £180–£300, depending on circuits and how many consumer units are fitted.
- HMO: £250–£500, reflecting extra circuits, communal areas, fire alarm interfaces and the extra care licensing officers expect.
- Commercial premises: normally priced per circuit or per distribution board after a short survey. See commercial EICR.
What drives the price
The number of circuits matters more than the number of bedrooms. Every circuit has to be isolated, tested for continuity, insulation resistance, polarity, earth fault loop impedance and RCD operation, then recorded. A large house with an extension, garden office and second consumer unit can have twice the circuits of a similar-sized older home.
Other factors include access (locked rooms, occupied tenancies, loft spaces), the age of the installation, whether there is more than one consumer unit, and whether the engineer can park. In central London, congestion charge and paid parking are often added to cheap headline prices.
Why very cheap EICRs often cost more
Online offers of £60–£70 are common. Some are perfectly genuine, but cheap quotes are frequently recovered in one of three ways:
- Add-ons on the day — extra consumer units, parking, congestion charge, or "additional circuits" above a low cap.
- Inflated remedial quotes — a low inspection fee followed by a long list of C2 observations and a high price to fix them.
- Limited sampling — testing too few points to finish within the price, which produces a report that may not satisfy a letting agent, council or insurer.
A proper inspection of a 3-bed house takes several hours. If a price seems too low for the time involved, ask how many circuits are included, what percentage of accessories will be inspected, and whether the inspector is registered with a scheme such as NICEIC.
Remedial work: the cost that matters most
The inspection fee does not include fixing defects. If the report is unsatisfactory, landlords must complete remedial work within 28 days (or sooner if the report says so). Typical remedials range from replacing a damaged socket to fitting RCD protection or a new consumer unit, which we fit from £399 including VAT.
We price every remedial item line by line before anything is done, and on our 2–3 bed package we carry out minor remedials such as a cracked accessory or missing blank on the day at no extra cost.
Is an EICR tax deductible for landlords?
An EICR for a let property is generally treated as an allowable revenue expense against rental income, as is most like-for-like repair work. Improvements may be treated differently. Check with your accountant for your circumstances.
How to get a fair price
- Ask for a fixed price including VAT, parking and any second consumer unit.
- Confirm the report turnaround — ours is digital within 48 hours.
- Ask whether remedials are quoted line by line, and whether you can use another contractor for them.
- Bundle work. If you also need PAT testing or an alarm check, one visit is cheaper than two.
- For several properties, ask for a portfolio rate and renewal reminders.