EICR certificates in Whetstone, N20

Whetstone's figures come from the Woodside Park census neighbourhood, home to 3,530 households. There, purpose-built blocks hold 48% of homes, against 40% across London. Council tax records show 1945 to 1972 as the largest building period, at 30% of homes, with 21% from 1973 to 1999. Homes of those decades have usually had at least one round of updating, though not always all at once. A newer consumer unit may sit in front of original circuits, or a kitchen may be wired to a later standard than the bedrooms. The EICR tests how those parts fit together.

Private renting is well above the London level, at 39% of households against 30%, while social renting is low at 10% against 23%. For a landlord with a flat from 1973 to 1999, the consumer unit is the thing to look at first. A unit from before 2008 often has RCD protection on some circuits only, or none. RCD protection for lighting came in with the 2018 edition of the wiring rules. The report records where protection falls short of what the current standard expects. Each point is coded by risk, so you can see what must be done and what is advisory.

Records of earlier work make the visit smoother. A block may have had its consumer units replaced in one programme, and the freeholder or managing agent may hold the certificates. For a house, a certificate from a consumer unit change, loft conversion or extension shows the electrician what was altered and when. There are 2 listed buildings within 300 m of the centre of Whetstone, the Church of St John and the Lawrence Campe Almshouses, each grade II. If your own home is listed, the inspection needs no consent, though remedial work that alters historic fabric can.