Which council enforces EICR rules in Bracknell?

Bracknell Forest Council, which also covers Crowthorne and Sandhurst.

Bracknell, Berkshire

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

Bracknell was designated a new town in 1949, so much of its rented housing comes from the same few decades of building, and the same generation of wiring.

What is different in Bracknell

Bracknell Forest Council is the local housing authority for Bracknell, Crowthorne and Sandhurst. It is the council that can request your EICR, require remedial work and take enforcement action under the 2020 regulations.

The new town neighbourhoods were built in phases from the 1950s onward, and many former council homes are now privately let. Original wiring from that era is often still in place behind updated sockets and switches. An EICR looks past the faceplates to the cables, earthing and consumer unit, which is where older installations tend to fall short.

Bracknell's town centre regeneration also added newer flats. Blocks like these can have communal electrics managed by a freeholder; your EICR covers the installation within your flat, so find out who looks after the shared parts.

Local housing authority: Bracknell Forest Council (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.