Consumer unit
Does an unsatisfactory report mean the board must be replaced?
Unsatisfactory means the inspector recorded observations that make the outcome unsatisfactory. It does not name a new consumer unit as the automatic remedy.
Reviewed 6 October 2026 by Michael (Technical Supervisor) and George Opsenica (Director, Codeex Maintenance Ltd). General guidance, not a reading of your own report and not legal advice.
What each reviewer checked
- Michael: Technical review of the exact current technical sentences on this page. It includes the consumer-unit replacement boundaries. This is not legal review..
- George Opsenica: Owner presentation of this current page. This is not a technical electrical review and it is not legal advice..
Replacement is not the default
An unsatisfactory EICR does not automatically mean the consumer unit must be replaced.
Observation codes describe what the inspector found on that installation. They are not a rule that every older board is replaced.
Repairing one recorded defect is not the same decision as replacing the whole consumer unit.
These features are not an automatic fail
A plastic consumer unit enclosure does not, by itself, mean the report is unsatisfactory.
The absence of an SPD does not, by itself, mean the report is unsatisfactory.
An AC-type RCD does not, by itself, mean the report is unsatisfactory.
An older consumer unit does not, by itself, mean it must be replaced.
One defect
A single observation may be repairable without changing the board.
The board as a whole
Replacement is considered when the observations on that installation are not solved item by item.
A missing SPD
Read the SPD guide. Absence alone is not this page's fail rule.
An older enclosure
Age and plastic are not, by themselves, the outcome.
When replacement can still be the remedial work
Replacement may be part of the remedial work when the report's observations, taken together for that installation, cannot be put right by repairing the individual items.
If damage to the enclosure is itself an observation, it is judged with the other observations on that report. Damage is not an automatic new consumer unit.
Choosing a newer consumer unit when the report does not require replacement is a separate decision from the remedial work the report records.
| What you are looking at | What it does not decide |
|---|---|
| One recorded defect | Repairing that item is not the same decision as replacing the board. |
| Several observations on the board | Replacement is considered only when those observations cannot be put right one by one. |
| Damage to the enclosure | The damage is an observation to read. It is not an automatic new board. |
| An older board that is still serviceable | Age is not, by itself, the reason for replacement. |
| A wish to modernise | A newer board chosen when the report does not require replacement is not the remedial work. |
What paperwork follows new work
New electrical work is certificated for the work that was done. That certificate is not a substitute for the condition report, and the condition report is not a certificate for the new work.
Use the remedial-work service for next steps
Remedial work is remedial work for an unsatisfactory EICR. Codes are the code guide. A missing SPD is the SPD guide.
Related pages
Read the observations first.
An unsatisfactory report is not an automatic new consumer unit.
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