Yes. In almost all cases an Unsatisfactory EICR can be fixed, and in most cases the process is more straightforward than people fear. An Unsatisfactory result does not mean a property is condemned, uninhabitable, or beyond repair. It means specific issues have been identified during the inspection and test that need to be resolved. Once they are, the installation can be brought back to a compliant and certifiable state.
This guide explains the process from receiving an Unsatisfactory report through to completing remedial work and obtaining the documentation that confirms compliance.
What Does Unsatisfactory Actually Mean?
An EICR is given an overall verdict of Unsatisfactory if it contains at least one C1, C2, or FI observation. A single C2 code on a large and otherwise sound installation makes the report Unsatisfactory in exactly the same way as a report with a dozen C1 and C2 codes. The overall verdict tells you that action is required, but it does not tell you how much work is needed or how serious the situation is. For that, you need to read the observations.
An Unsatisfactory EICR is a snapshot of the installation’s condition at the time of inspection. It reflects what the electrician found on that day. The installation may have been in this condition for some time without any obvious incident, or a specific fault may have developed recently. Either way, the purpose of the inspection process is to find these issues before they cause harm, and an Unsatisfactory report means the inspection has done its job.
Importantly, an Unsatisfactory result does not necessarily mean the whole installation needs replacing. A single faulty RCD, a missing earth connection at a socket, or a section of cable with deteriorated insulation can all produce an Unsatisfactory result. In many cases the remedial work required is targeted, modest in scope, and can be completed in a single visit.
Step 1: Understanding the Observations
The first step is to read the observations section of the EICR carefully. Each observation should tell you what the issue is, where it is located in the installation, and what code has been applied to it. A well-produced report will also reference the specific regulation within BS 7671 that the observation relates to.
If any observation is unclear, ask the inspecting electrician to explain it in plain English before commissioning any work. Understanding what the actual fault is, and where it is, is important for getting an accurate remedial work quote and for making sure the right work is done. A vague or poorly described observation is harder to price and harder to resolve.
It is also worth checking whether the report includes any FI observations alongside the C1 and C2 codes. An FI means further investigation is needed before a definitive verdict can be reached on that particular issue. In some cases the further investigation will reveal that the situation is less serious than feared. In others it will reveal an additional problem. Either way, the FI must be investigated as part of the remedial process.
Step 2: Getting a Quote for Remedial Work
The inspecting electrician will typically offer to quote for the remedial work required. You are not obliged to use the same electrician, and for significant or expensive work it is entirely reasonable to obtain more than one quote. The EICR itself provides the basis for quoting, since it describes the specific observations that need to be addressed.
A proper remedial work quote should be itemised against the observations in the report, not presented as a single total figure for unspecified electrical work. If a quote simply says “remedial works to address EICR observations: £X” without detailing what that includes, ask for a breakdown. You should be able to see which observation each element of the work addresses.
Be aware that some remedial work can only be fully scoped once it is open. A wiring fault in a concealed location, for example, may require opening up a section of ceiling or wall before the full extent of the problem can be assessed. A responsible electrician will flag this in their quote rather than guarantee a fixed price for work they cannot fully see until they start.
Step 3: The Remedial Work
The most common types of remedial work arising from an Unsatisfactory EICR cover a wide range of issues. Some are quick and straightforward. Others are more involved.
Main Protective Bonding to Water and Gas Services
One of the most frequently found C2 observations on older properties is the absence of, or inadequate, main protective bonding conductors. Under BS 7671, metal pipework entering the building, specifically the incoming water service and the gas installation pipework, must be connected to the main earthing terminal of the property by a main protective bonding conductor of adequate cross-sectional area.
In many older properties this bonding was never installed, has been disconnected during plumbing work, or uses an undersized conductor that does not meet current requirements. The fix involves running a correctly sized bonding conductor, typically 10mm² in most domestic installations, from the main earthing terminal to a clamp fitted to the incoming metal water pipe and a separate clamp fitted to the gas installation pipework near the meter.
This is relatively straightforward work in most properties but requires the bonding conductor to be run from the consumer unit location to wherever the incoming services enter the property. In some houses these points are in different locations and the run may go through floors, walls, or ceiling voids. The work is important because effective bonding is one of the fundamental protection measures against electric shock in the event of a fault.
Consumer Unit Upgrade or Replacement
Where the consumer unit itself is the source of C1 or C2 observations, such as a faulty protective device, missing blanks allowing access to live parts, an inadequate earthing arrangement, or a board that fundamentally cannot provide the required level of protection, a consumer unit upgrade may be the most appropriate remediation. This involves replacing the existing board with a compliant modern unit fitted with appropriate protective devices and tested fully before certification. A consumer unit replacement is notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations and must be carried out by a NAPIT-registered electrician who can self-certify and notify.
Replacement or Addition of RCD Protection
Where circuits lack the required RCD protection, the addition of RCD or RCBO protection is required. Depending on the consumer unit type, this may be achievable by replacing individual MCBs with RCBOs, or it may require a more significant upgrade to the board itself. Where the existing consumer unit is a split load type, it may be possible to reorganise which circuits sit on each RCD. In older boards with no RCD provision at all, a full consumer unit upgrade is usually the most practical route.
Correction of Bonding and Earthing Faults
Beyond the main protective bonding covered above, supplementary bonding may be required in bathrooms where the existing arrangements do not meet current requirements. Earth connections missing from individual accessories, undersized earthing conductors, or earthing conductors that are disconnected or corroded also fall into this category.
Replacement of Damaged or Deteriorated Accessories
Sockets, switches, ceiling roses, and light fittings that are damaged, cracked, discoloured, or showing signs of overheating may be coded C1 or C2 depending on the severity. These are generally straightforward to replace, though where the damage has been caused by an underlying fault in the wiring rather than by the accessory itself, simply replacing the accessory does not address the root cause.
Non-Fire-Rated Downlighters
Where recessed downlighters have been installed without fire hoods in a ceiling that also acts as a floor to the room above, this is a fire safety concern that is frequently flagged as a C3 or in some circumstances higher, particularly under BPG4 guidance for installations in certain locations. A non-fire-rated downlighter in a ceiling creates a hole in the fire separation layer between floors. Fire hoods, fitted over each downlighter, maintain that separation and can also prevent heat build-up that shortens the life of the fitting.
Retrofitting fire hoods to existing recessed downlighters is generally achievable from above, in the loft or from the floor above, without significant disruption. Where access from above is not practical, the fitting may need to be temporarily removed to fit the hood from below. For a property where many downlighters are present and none have fire hoods, this can represent a meaningful amount of work, but the alternative is a persistent fire risk across every floor of the building.
Correction of Wiring Faults Found During Testing
Insulation resistance testing, polarity checks, and earth fault loop impedance testing can all identify faults in the fixed wiring that are not visible from the surface. An insulation resistance failure on a circuit indicates that the cable’s insulation has broken down at one or more points, allowing current to leak. A polarity fault means a circuit has been wired with live and neutral conductors reversed. A high earth fault loop impedance means the earth path resistance is too high for the protective device to operate quickly enough in the event of a fault.
These faults require the affected wiring to be traced and the problem located. Depending on where the fault is, this may involve opening junction boxes, checking connections at accessories, or in more serious cases, tracing and replacing sections of cable.
Replacement of Circuits With Widespread Insulation Failure
Where insulation resistance testing reveals that a circuit’s insulation has failed broadly, not just at one point, the appropriate remediation is often to replace the circuit wiring entirely rather than to hunt for individual fault locations. This is particularly common with older rubber-insulated cable, which becomes brittle over time and may fail at multiple points along its length. Replacing the circuit involves running new cable in the same or equivalent route and reconnecting at both ends. Where cables are concealed within the fabric of the building, this can be a more involved job, though modern cable-pulling techniques and trunking solutions can often achieve a clean result without full replastering.
Step 4: Retesting and Certification
Once the remedial work is complete, the electrician will test the affected parts of the installation to verify that the faults identified on the EICR have been resolved. This verification testing does not require a full repeat of the EICR inspection and test across the entire installation. It focuses on the circuits and accessories that were the subject of the remedial work.
On completion of this verification, the electrician issues the appropriate certification:
An Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) is issued for significant work such as a consumer unit replacement, installation of new circuits, or other notifiable work under Part P. The EIC confirms that the work was designed, installed, inspected, and tested to BS 7671.
A Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate (MEIWC) is issued for smaller remedial jobs, such as replacement of individual accessories, addition of bonding conductors, or correction of a specific wiring fault.
These certificates, kept alongside the original Unsatisfactory EICR, constitute the complete compliance record for the work. The original EICR does not need to be reissued as a new full report following remedial work. The combination of the original report and the subsequent certificates demonstrates that the observations have been addressed.
The next scheduled full EICR inspection will then take place at the interval recommended on the original report, or sooner if the electrician carrying out the remedial work considers a full reinspection appropriate given the nature of the faults found.
What Landlords Must Do After Remedial Work
For landlords, the timescales and documentation requirements following an Unsatisfactory EICR are set out in the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 and are not discretionary.
The remedial work must be completed within 28 days of the date of the original inspection, or within any shorter period if specified in the EICR. The 28-day window runs from the inspection date, not from when the report was delivered or read.
Once the work is complete, written confirmation from the electrician must be provided to the tenant and to the local housing authority within 28 days of the work being completed. The GOV.UK guidance on electrical safety standards in the private rented sector confirms that acceptable forms of written confirmation include a satisfactory new EICR, an Electrical Installation Certificate, or a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate.
All documentation should be retained together: the original Unsatisfactory EICR, all certificates from remedial work, and all correspondence with the tenant and local authority about the compliance process. This paper trail is your evidence of compliance in the event of any future query from a tenant, a local authority, or an insurer.
Missing the 28-day remedial window is a breach of the regulations and can attract a civil penalty of up to £40,000 per breach under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025. If you are struggling to get an electrician within 28 days, document your attempts and act as quickly as possible. The key test is whether you have taken all reasonable steps to comply.
When the Remedial Work Is More Extensive
Not all Unsatisfactory EICRs point toward targeted, modest repairs. Some reveal that an installation has deteriorated broadly, with multiple C2 observations across different circuits, widespread insulation failure on testing, old rubber or aluminium wiring throughout, or evidence of extensive previous DIY work of uncertain quality.
In these situations, the conversation with your electrician should include a frank assessment of whether targeted remedial work represents value for money, or whether a partial or full rewire is the more appropriate and cost-effective response. Carrying out piecemeal repairs on an aged installation can be a process of diminishing returns: each repair addresses the observation in front of you, but the underlying condition of the installation continues to deteriorate and may produce further Unsatisfactory results at the next inspection.
Electrical Safety First recommends that all properties have their electrical installation periodically inspected and that where an installation has reached the end of its serviceable life, a rewire is the appropriate long-term solution. A rewire, while a more significant investment than targeted repairs, provides a new installation with a full certification record, a known and defined condition, and a considerably longer service life before the next major intervention is required.
Can You Reduce the Scope of Remedial Work?
The scope of remedial work that is legally required following an Unsatisfactory EICR is determined by the C1, C2, and FI observations on the report. These cannot be negotiated away. They represent the inspector’s professional assessment that these observations represent danger or potential danger, and that assessment is backed by the standard coding guidance in BPG4.
C3 observations do not need to be addressed for the purposes of compliance, and you are not required to include them in your remedial work unless you choose to.
If you genuinely believe that a specific observation has been incorrectly coded, for example a C2 applied to something that you believe should be a C3, you have the right to seek a second opinion from another qualified electrician before commissioning work. This is a reasonable course of action where you have genuine grounds to question the coding. It is not a reasonable approach if the motivation is simply to avoid the cost of necessary remedial work.
What Happens if the Remedial Work Is Not Done?
For homeowners: the installation remains in an unsafe or potentially unsafe condition. There is no direct financial penalty under the regulations, but the risks, of fire, of electric shock, and of an insurance policy that does not respond to a claim where the hazard was documented and unaddressed, are real.
For landlords: the consequences are considerably more serious. The civil penalty under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 is up to £40,000 per breach, and multiple breaches, failing to complete the work, failing to provide written confirmation to the tenant, failing to provide it to the local authority, can each attract separate penalties. The NRLA’s guidance on electrical safety is clear that where an EICR identifies urgent remedial work, landlords must ensure it is carried out within the specified timeframe. Local authorities also have the power to arrange remedial work themselves and recover the costs from the landlord. An outstanding Unsatisfactory EICR may also affect a landlord’s ability to serve valid possession notices.
Beyond the regulatory penalties, an unresolved C1 or C2 observation in a rented property, with a tenant living there who is unaware of the risk, represents a genuine duty of care failure. The documentation trail that an EICR creates means that a landlord who receives a report, knows the observations, and takes no action, is in a significantly worse position in the event of a fire or injury than one who never had an inspection at all.
Talk to Flodman Electrical About Remedial Work
Flodman Electrical are NAPIT-approved electricians based in Farnborough, covering Hampshire, Surrey, and Berkshire. If you have received an Unsatisfactory EICR, we can provide a clear, itemised quote for the remedial work required, complete it within the required timeframe, and issue the correct certification on completion. For landlords, we will also provide the written confirmation you need to give to your tenant and local authority.
We carry out both EICRs and all subsequent remedial work, so you are not juggling different contractors or chasing documentation from multiple sources.
Contact Flodman Electrical to discuss remedial work following an unsatisfactory EICR
Flodman Electrical Ltd, NAPIT Approved Contractor. Serving Farnborough, Hampshire, Surrey and Berkshire.
