Cardiff: landlord electrical safety certificate
Landlord electrical safety certificate in Cardiff — findings recorded, scope agreed before work starts, no open-ended hourly billing. Available throughout Cardiff, including Caerphilly.
- 1. Dead testing with the supply isolated: continuity, insulation resistance and polarity across each circuit
- 2. Live testing: earth fault loop impedance and RCD operating times
- 3. In most Cardiff cases: visual inspection of the board, accessories, bonding and any accessible cabling
- 4. Report issued with each observation coded and photographed where relevant
There is a short version and a long version of landlord electrical safety certificate. The short version: test it, then decide.
The document landlords call a safety certificate is formally an Electrical Installation Condition Report. We would rather turn a Cardiff job down than take on something we cannot certificate honestly. In practice that means checking a new tenancy starting before anything is replaced.
Cardiff properties near Penarth are covered on the same schedule, so a joint visit is often possible if a neighbour needs the same thing. It is written into the report either way, so nothing is hidden.
Timescales are given honestly. If a part has to come, we say when rather than leaving it open. Anyone testing properly will reach the same conclusion.
If something falls outside what we can do properly, we say so and point you at who does it, rather than attempting it. It rarely changes the price, but it does change the plan.
The intention of this page is to save you a wasted visit, not to create one. Nothing about this needs to be stressful — it is a known process with a known output.
Weather and exposure play a part locally, and a new tenancy starting and the agent asking is the usual result.
The previous report reaching its five-year expiry — one of several possibilities, all of which get checked.
A local authority licensing condition on an HMO, which is why the whole circuit gets tested and not just the visible part.
A tenant raising a safety concern about the wiring, which is measurable rather than a matter of opinion.
Dead testing with the supply isolated. Nothing gets replaced on a hunch.
Live testing: earth fault loop impedance and RCD operating — no shortcuts, because the paperwork has to stand up.
Visual inspection of the board, accessories, bonding and any. That covers the part most people are unsure about.
Report issued with each observation coded and photographed where — the step people most often find has been skipped previously.
Written with Cardiff housing and Cardiff Council requirements in mind.
Why people in Cardiff ask for it
- A new tenancy starting and the agent asking for current paperwork.
- The previous report reaching its five-year expiry. It affects timing more than cost.
- In most Cardiff cases: a local authority licensing condition on an HMO.
What the electrical installation condition report (eicr) actually covers
The document landlords call a safety certificate is formally an Electrical Installation Condition Report. It records the condition of the fixed wiring — the consumer unit, circuits, sockets, switches and accessories — and states whether the installation is satisfactory for continued use.
While you wait: under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 framework, landlords in Wales must have the electrical installation inspected and tested at least every five years by a qualified person and provide a copy of the report to the contract-holder.
What the result can say
What happens on the day
- 1Dead testing with the supply isolated: continuity, insulation resistance and polarity across each circuit.
- 2Live testing: earth fault loop impedance and RCD operating times. It affects timing more than cost.
- 3In most Cardiff cases: visual inspection of the board, accessories, bonding and any accessible cabling.
- 4Report issued with each observation coded and photographed where relevant. That is checked on every visit.
As with every job in CF10–CF24: a typical two or three bedroom property takes two to four hours on site, with the report issued the same or next working day.
Questions about the electrical installation condition report (eicr)
How long does a landlord certificate last?
Up to five years, unless the report itself specifies a shorter interval based on the condition of the installation.
What should I have ready before you arrive?
Access to the board and to the affected area, plus any previous certificates. That is enough to start at the Cardiff property.
Can you talk to my letting agent directly?
Yes, if you tell us who to contact. Access and reporting can both go through them.
What is not included?
Building work, decoration and anything outside the electrical scope. Those are flagged rather than absorbed.
How quickly can you attend in Cardiff?
A typical two or three bedroom property takes two to four hours on site, with the report issued the same or next working day. Cardiff sits close to M4 J32–J33, which is why we can usually add a CF10–CF24 job to the same day.
Cardiff context
Cardiff Council handles building control notification for Cardiff, and we register notifiable work there as part of the job.
A large share of the property we see in Cardiff is Victorian and Edwardian terraces across Cathays and Roath.
We also cover Penarth and Caerphilly on the same rounds as Cardiff.
Start with a survey
Send a short description and any previous certificate. We will say what testing is needed before we quote anything. Cardiff Council notification is handled by us where the work requires it.
Landlord electrical safety certificate in Cardiff — findings recorded, scope agreed before work starts, no open-ended hourly billing. Available throughout Cardiff, including Caerphilly.