Which council covers my Ascot rental?

Most of Ascot is in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, but parts of North Ascot are in Bracknell Forest. Your council tax bill tells you which.

Ascot, Berkshire

Landlord EICRs in Ascot: the five-year rule, locally

Ascot is split between two councils, which matters for landlords: the one that enforces electrical safety depends on which side of the line your property is on.

What is different in Ascot

Most of Ascot, including the high street and Sunninghill, is in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, but parts of North Ascot fall within Bracknell Forest. Check the council on your property's council tax bill; that is the authority that can ask for your EICR.

Ascot has many large detached houses, often extended and with outbuildings, garden lighting, pool houses or gates on their own circuits. The inspection should cover the whole fixed installation you provide, which on a larger property can take most of a day, and a report that lists areas not inspected deserves a careful read.

Bigger installations are also more likely to have been worked on by several electricians over the years. Keep every Electrical Installation Certificate and Part P compliance certificate together with the EICR, because an inspector can only judge what they can see or what is documented.

Local housing authority: Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (opens in a new tab)

The rule, in brief

If you let a home in England on a tenancy covered by the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, the fixed wiring must be inspected and tested by a qualified and competent person at least every five years. The result is an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR). Existing tenants get a copy within 28 days of the inspection, new tenants before they move in, and the council within 7 days if it asks for one. Owner-occupiers have no legal duty, but Electrical Safety First recommends an inspection at least every ten years, and whenever you buy a home.

Source: Electrical Safety First (opens in a new tab) / GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)

When do you need an EICR? — the full answer

Related safety advice

Signs your consumer unit needs replacing

A consumer unit, or fuse box, is worth having checked by a registered electrician if it still has rewirable fuses, has no RCD protection, shows scorch marks, smells of burning, crackles, feels hot, or trips repeatedly. Age on its own is not proof it is unsafe: an EICR is how you find out whether it needs replacing. Replacing one is notifiable work under Part P of the Building Regulations in England, so it is a job for a registered electrician rather than a DIY one.

Source: Electrical Safety First (opens in a new tab)

What Part P means for your electrical job

Part P of the Building Regulations covers electrical safety in homes in England. All electrical work has to meet it, but only some jobs are notifiable: installing a new circuit, replacing a consumer unit, and adding to or altering circuits in a special location such as a room with a bath or shower. Notifiable work is either done by an electrician registered with a competent person scheme, who certifies it and notifies building control, or notified to the council's building control before it starts.