Before they ask:
Do I need an electrical certificate to sell my house?
There is no legal requirement for a seller to hold an electrical certificate. What gets asked is whether notifiable work since 2005 was certified under Part P, and on older properties, when the wiring was last checked.
- How long
- 1–2 weeks for a condition report
- Typical cost
- £150–£300 for an EICR
- Who asks
- Buyer's solicitor and surveyor
Electrics are a surveyor question more than a solicitor question, which is why they tend to arrive later in the process and cause more trouble than they should.
The legal position
There is no duty on a seller to hold an electrical certificate. Unlike landlords, who must have an EICR every five years, sellers have no equivalent obligation.
What there is, is Part P. Since 2005, certain electrical work in a dwelling in England and Wales has been notifiable under the building regulations:
- Installing a new consumer unit (fuse board)
- New circuits
- Work in certain higher-risk locations
Notifiable work should have produced either a certificate self-certified by a registered electrician, or a building control notification.
What actually happens in a sale
Two separate things, at different times:
The solicitor’s enquiry asks whether any electrical work has been done, and if so whether it was certified. This is straightforward if you have the paperwork and awkward if you do not.
The surveyor’s comment is the one that costs money. On an older property, surveys routinely note the age of the installation and recommend further investigation. That recommendation lands with the buyer, who now has a reason to renegotiate — and “we don’t know” is a much more expensive answer than a report.
The asymmetry. A £200 condition report in month one is a document. The same question at survey stage in month four is a negotiating lever pointed at you, and the number attached to it is rarely £200.
What to gather
- Any certificate from work you have had done — consumer unit, rewire, new circuits
- A rewire date, if you know it
- Anything in the paperwork from when you bought
Whether to get an EICR
Genuinely a judgement call. Broadly:
| Situation | Worth considering |
|---|---|
| Pre-1970s property, no known rewire | An EICR removes a large unknown before it becomes leverage |
| Rewired recently, paperwork to hand | Little to add |
| Work done with no certificate | Speak to your conveyancer first — see the note below |
| You don’t know what you have | Find out before you list, not after |
If work was done without certification, the same caution applies as for any missing building regulations sign-off: speak to your conveyancer before approaching building control, because doing so can affect the indemnity insurance route. See the indemnity trap.
Common questions
What is Part P?
The part of the building regulations covering electrical safety in dwellings, in force in England and Wales since 2005. Certain work — a new consumer unit, new circuits, and work in some higher-risk locations — is notifiable and should produce a certificate, either self-certified by a registered electrician or notified to building control.
What is an EICR?
An Electrical Installation Condition Report. A qualified electrician inspects and tests the installation and reports its condition against current standards. It is not a certificate of compliance for past work, and it is not legally required of a seller, but it answers the surveyor's question directly.
Should I get one before listing?
It is a commercial judgement. On an older property where you know a surveyor will comment, having a recent report removes an unknown that the buyer would otherwise price in. On a recently rewired house with the paperwork to hand, it adds little. This is not a decision anyone can make for you from a web page.
What if I did the work myself?
DIY electrical work is not prohibited, but notifiable work still needed notifying, and self-certification is only available to registered electricians. Be straightforward about it with your conveyancer — it is a much smaller problem disclosed early than discovered at survey.
Last reviewed 13 September 2026. England and Wales.
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