EICR in Paddington, from stucco conversions to canalside flats.
Electrical condition reports for rented and owner-occupied homes in Paddington, Bayswater and Little Venice, tested by registered electricians and reported the same day.
Covering W2. Monday to Saturday 9am to 8pm, Sunday 9am to 3pm.
Two very different kinds of building
Paddington has some of the most varied housing in Westminster. South of the station, white stucco terraces and garden squares from the nineteenth century run towards Hyde Park, most of them long since divided into flats. Around Paddington Basin and along the canal there are modern apartment buildings, many less than twenty years old. Bayswater's edge adds hotels turned back into flats and small purpose built blocks.
The age of the building changes what an EICR is likely to find, so it is worth knowing which type you are dealing with.
Period conversions
Converting a stucco house into five or six flats creates a web of supplies, meters in basements and cables rising through shared parts. Each flat's installation is tested from its own board, and we note where circuits pass through other parts of the building.
Newer apartments
Modern blocks usually have consumer units with full residual current protection and plastic conduit runs, so the report is often satisfactory. The commonest issues are alterations made later, such as added kitchen circuits or extra lighting, without certification.
The inspection itself
Testing covers the consumer unit, protective devices, earthing and bonding and every final circuit. Readings for continuity, insulation resistance, polarity and earth fault loop impedance are recorded, and accessories are sampled and opened. Defects are coded C1, C2, C3 or FI, and the overall result is satisfactory only if there are no C1, C2 or FI items. The main EICR page explains each code.
Landlord rules in W2
Private landlords in England must have the installation inspected at least every five years under the 2020 regulations, supply the report to tenants within 28 days and to new tenants before they move in, and finish required remedial work within 28 days or sooner if stated. Westminster Council can impose financial penalties of up to £30,000.
Paddington has a high proportion of short and mid-term furnished lets close to the station and hospital. Whatever the length of the let, if it is a private tenancy the rules apply.
Access in blocks and conversions
Concierge buildings around the basin usually want contractors registered in advance, sometimes with insurance details. Period conversions may need access to a shared meter cupboard. Tell us how the building works and we will make the arrangements, then book a slot with the tenant.
Findings we see often around Paddington
The pattern differs by building type, but a few issues come up repeatedly.
Shared basement supplies
Labelling of meters and isolators in shared basements is often poor, which makes isolation unsafe until it is corrected.
Extra circuits without paperwork
Added sockets, garden lighting on terraces and kitchen upgrades without certificates are recorded so you know what has been changed.
Heat and ventilation
Flats with electric heating and little ventilation can show heat damage at accessories and connections behind appliances.
After the report
An unsatisfactory report comes with a written quote for the remedial work. Once it is finished you receive confirmation for your records and the tenant's. Urgent faults are made safe before we leave.
Hotels turned into flats around Sussex Gardens
Streets between Paddington station and Hyde Park include terraces that spent decades as small hotels before conversion back into flats. Those buildings can carry traces of their previous use: fire alarm wiring that no longer serves anything, old emergency lighting circuits, and supplies split in ways that do not match the current flat boundaries.
During the inspection the electrician identifies which circuits genuinely serve your flat and records anything that appears to belong to the building or to a neighbour. Redundant wiring that is still live, or that cannot be traced, is recorded on the report so it can be made safe or removed.
Where a building is now an HMO, the landlord has the same five yearly duty, and the licence conditions set by the council may ask for the report to be provided when the licence is applied for or renewed. We can produce the report in good time for that.
What is tested, room by room
The visit starts at the consumer unit. The electrician records the type of board, each circuit breaker or fuse, and whether residual current devices protect the circuits that need them. Main earthing and the protective bonding to gas and water pipes are checked where they enter the flat or the building.
In the kitchen, the focus is on the cooker circuit, sockets near the sink, and any appliances on fused spurs, such as an extractor or a built in fridge. In bathrooms and shower rooms, the electrician looks at lighting, shaver points, extractor fans and electric showers, and at whether the room has the protection the current standard expects. Bedrooms and living rooms are checked for damaged accessories, overloaded adaptors that hint at too few sockets, and signs of heat at plug tops and switches.
A sample of accessories is opened on each circuit so the terminations and cable condition can be seen. Dead tests confirm continuity, insulation resistance and polarity. Live tests then measure earth fault loop impedance and the operating time of each residual current device. Anything that could not be reached, such as wiring behind fitted furniture, is recorded as a limitation rather than left out silently.
Consumer units and residual current protection in period flats
Many W2 conversions still have an older board, sometimes with rewireable fuses or no residual current protection on the socket circuits. That is not automatically a fail. The code given depends on what the circuits serve and how they are used. Socket outlets that could supply equipment outdoors, or circuits in a bathroom without suitable protection, are more likely to be coded as potentially dangerous.
Where a board does need replacing, the new unit must be non combustible, and the existing circuits must pass their tests before the new board is connected. In older conversions, an insulation fault on a circuit that the old fuses tolerated can cause a residual current device to trip as soon as it is fitted, so any faults are traced and fixed first. We explain this at quoting stage so there are no surprises on the day.
HMOs and flats above shops
Paddington has a good number of shared houses and flats above shops on Praed Street, Edgware Road and the streets leading off them. A house in multiple occupation needs the same five yearly report as any other rental, and the council licence conditions will usually ask for it. Shared parts such as hallways, stair lighting and the fire alarm supply are included where they form part of the landlord's installation.
Where a shop or café sits on the ground floor, its supply is normally separate from the flats above. The flat report covers the flat, and the commercial unit needs its own inspection. If the landlord owns the whole building, both can be done in a single visit, with separate reports for each part.
Deadlines landlords need to know
Under the 2020 regulations a private landlord in England must have the installation inspected at least every five years by a qualified person. The tenant must receive a copy within 28 days of the inspection, a new tenant before moving in, and a prospective tenant within 28 days of asking for one. The council can ask for a copy and must receive it within seven days.
If the report is unsatisfactory, the remedial work, or further investigation, must be done within 28 days or any shorter period stated on the report. Written confirmation that it has been done goes to the tenant and the council within 28 days of completion. Councils can impose financial penalties of up to £30,000 for breaches.
Getting the flat ready
Clear access to the consumer unit and the meter makes the biggest difference to how smoothly the visit runs. In many W2 conversions the board is in a cupboard packed with coats or cleaning products, or high above a front door. If the meter is in a locked communal cupboard, let us know who holds the key.
Tell the tenant that the power will go off circuit by circuit for short periods, and that sockets and light switches in each room will be checked, which means moving small items of furniture where they block an outlet. Computers should be shut down before testing starts. If anyone in the flat relies on powered medical equipment, tell us at booking so the testing can be arranged around it.
For a typical one or two bedroom flat the visit takes a few hours. Larger maisonettes, or flats with extra circuits added over the years, can take longer.
Around Paddington
We cover W2 including Bayswater, Lancaster Gate, Little Venice and the Hyde Park side. See also gas safety certificates in Paddington, EPCs in Paddington and our Paddington builders page.
EICR in Paddington: your questions.
Yes, if it is privately let. Newer installations often pass first time, but the inspection is still required at least every five years.
Yes. We provide whatever the building asks for in advance, then book the visit through them.
If it is let as a private tenancy, yes. Holiday lets have different rules, so tell us how the property is let and we will advise.
You and anyone you name, such as your agent, by email on the day.
Yes. The quote arrives with the report, and written confirmation follows once the work is done.
Not necessarily. It depends on whether the old wiring has been properly removed or isolated. Anything still live that does not serve the flat, or that cannot be identified, is recorded so it can be dealt with.
Book an EICR in Paddington
A fixed written quote, agreed before any work starts. We reply in our opening hours, Monday to Saturday 9am to 8pm and Sunday 9am to 3pm.
Quicker to talk? Call 07498 597339 or message us on WhatsApp.
More on this service, and nearby.
Booking somewhere else in London? Our EICR London page covers every borough, how the visit works and what affects the cost.
Often needed
alongside this.
Areas we cover.
We take EICR inspections across all 32 London boroughs. Most of our work is in west London, in Shepherd's Bush, Hammersmith, Fulham, Kensington, Chiswick and White City, and in south west London, in Putney, Wandsworth and Wimbledon. We also work in south east London, in Greenwich, Blackheath and Lewisham.
If your property is outside these areas, call us anyway. We travel across London and will tell you honestly if a job is too far to price properly.