A block of flats is several installations, and each gets its own report. GOV.UK's guidance, updated in October 2026, says the rented sector electrical regulations "do not apply to communal areas of a building, such as stairwells, corridors or other shared spaces". So the flat's EICR goes to the landlord under those regulations, while the communal EICR goes to whoever controls the common parts, normally every five years on Electrical Safety First's recommendation. The arguments start at the boundary: the cable between meter and flat, a locked intake room, and a neutral shared with the landing lights. Here is how to handle each.
- One report per flat, plus a separate report for the communal installation. A report on a "typical flat" does not cover the others.
- Rented sector regulations cover the dwelling. Communal duties come from the Electricity at Work Regulations, the Fire Safety Order, the Housing Act 2004 and the lease.
- Five years for communal parts is a recommendation from Electrical Safety First, but it is a legal maximum in a section 257 HMO in England.
- Rising and lateral mains belong to the network operator or a building network operator. Find out which, rather than assuming.
- A reading at a flat's board with a sub-main upstream is Zdb, not Ze. Write down what it actually is.
- Each flat is its own installation for main bonding, whatever has been bonded in the intake room.
Where does each report start and stop?
The regulations borrow their definition from the Building Regulations 2010: an electrical installation is fixed cables or fixed equipment on the consumer's side of the supply meter. That gives you the starting point, and the layout of the block tells you the rest.
| Layout | Up to the meter | Flat's report starts | What to write in Section D |
|---|---|---|---|
| Meter inside the flat, fed by a rising or lateral main | Network operator or building network operator | At the meter | "Installation from meter onward. Rising and lateral mains excluded, owned by others." |
| Meters in a ground-floor room, cable through common parts to the flat | Network operator to the cut-out, supplier's meter | At the meter on paper, but the cable runs through parts the landlord does not control | State whether the cable was inspected, how far, and who agreed it |
| Meter in a landing cupboard, short run into the flat | As above | At the meter, usually with access to the cupboard | Note whether the cupboard was opened and how it is controlled |
| Landlord's own supply and distribution board | Network operator to the cut-out, landlord's meter | Not a flat. This is the communal report | List every board, sub-main and service included |
The second row causes the trouble. That cable is on the consumer's side of the meter, so it falls inside the definition, yet it runs through common parts the freeholder controls. Forum opinion splits on who answers for it, and the lease decides it, not the electrician. As Electrical Safety First's guidance puts it, responsibility depends on the lease and any management or maintenance contracts. Inspect what you can reach, report what you find, and agree the extent in writing before you start.
Don't write the cable out of the report just because it is awkward. A flat's supply running through a stairwell behind a loose cover is something the client needs to hear about, even if a different party has to fix it. An IET EngX thread titled "Who is responsible for this lot" ends the sensible way: the inspector reported the defects on the EICR and left the remedy to the responsible party. For the wording, see EICR Sampling and Limitations Explained.
Who is the duty holder for the communal installation?
Electrical Safety First's Electrical Safety in Communal Areas of Residential Properties (January 2025) names the primary duty holder as usually the landlord or a resident-led management company (RMC or RTM). Managing agents and contractors pick up duties where their contract covers electrical safety. No single regulation orders a communal EICR. The duty is the sum of these:
| Source | What it requires | Where it bites |
|---|---|---|
| Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 | Systems kept safe so far as reasonably practicable | Anywhere people work, including cleaners and contractors |
| Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 | Fire risk assessment of the common parts | Electrics are an ignition source the assessor will ask about |
| Housing Act 2004 | Councils can act on unsafe communal electrics | GOV.UK names this route in its guidance |
| Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 s.11(1A) | Installations serving a flat directly or indirectly, on short leases | Limited by s.11(1B) to disrepair affecting the tenant's enjoyment |
| HMO regulations, S.I. 2007/1903 reg 7(3) | Every fixed installation tested at intervals not exceeding five years | Section 257 converted blocks in England, to the extent the manager controls it |
The GOV.UK checklist for the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 sets out door checks from 11 m, and monthly checks on lifts, rising mains (the fire-fighting kind, not yours) and fire alarms from 18 m. It doesn't mention electrical installations as such, so don't tell a client those regulations demand an EICR. Do tell them the fire risk assessor will want to see a current one.
If the block is leasehold and a leaseholder lets out their flat, you can have three parties in one conversation: the landlord who pays you, the freeholder who owns the riser, and the agent with the keys. A leaseholder cannot authorise work on the shared cable. Get remedial work on common parts approved by the freeholder or agent before you touch it.
Who owns the rising and lateral mains?
There are two possibilities, and you cannot tell from looking at the cable. Annex A of the Electrical Safety First guide says the network operator owns up to the intake point and the Building Network Operator (BNO) owns beyond it, excluding meters. BNO is the term in the network operators' own documents too: Electricity North West's ES287 (Issue 4, December 2021) describes it as the party between the intake and the customers' installations, usually the owner or landlord and sometimes an independent network operator. UK Power Networks says the BNO installs and owns the mains and multi-distribution boards and is responsible for repairing and replacing them.
But plenty of older blocks have network-owned risers, which is why operators such as Electricity North West run rising main inspections to clarify ownership with building owners. Three checks:
- The cut-out and seals. ES287 requires network-owned equipment to carry approved seals and the operator's name on the cut-out. Everything beyond that cut-out is the BNO's.
- The agent's records. Ask for the last report and any BNO paperwork.
- The network operator. If nobody knows, the operator is the one to ask.
Industry standard for this work is Engineering Recommendation G87, LV Supplies to Multi-Occupied Buildings. BNO-owned equipment falls in the scope of the communal EICR. Network-owned equipment doesn't. Note what you saw either way, and don't break seals. For the fuse-pull question see Smart Meters, Isolators and Meter Tails on an EICR.
Is the reading at the flat Ze or Zdb?
This is a common slip on flat reports. Ze is measured at the origin with the installation isolated and the earthing conductor disconnected. If the origin is a meter in the flat, that is a true Ze, even with a long riser upstream, because the riser is on the supply side. If the meter is on the ground floor and your cable runs 40 m to the flat, the reading at the flat's board includes that cable. That is Zdb, which is why the A4 model forms have a Zdb column for each distribution board. Put it there, and for Ze use a reading at the meter position or the value obtained by enquiry, and say which.
Sub-main length matters more than people expect on a poor supply. Take 40 m of 16 mm² singles with a 16 mm² cpc, at 1.15 mΩ/m per conductor at 20 °C: that adds 40 × 2.30 mΩ = 0.09 Ω. Then a 32 A Type B ring with R1+R2 of 0.50 Ω:
| Supply | Ze | Zdb with sub-main | Zs at far point | Against B32 limit 1.37 Ω, 80% 1.10 Ω |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TN-C-S at declared maximum | 0.35 Ω | 0.44 Ω | 0.94 Ω | Pass |
| TN-S at declared maximum | 0.80 Ω | 0.89 Ω | 1.39 Ω | Over 1.37 Ω |
The same ring passes or fails on what the supply and sub-main contribute. On a TN-S block, a high figure might mean a sheath in poor condition somewhere along an old route, so pass it to the agent rather than dismissing it as out of scope. If a reading is out, see High Zs Readings.
Don't guess the earthing from the block's age either. ES287 prefers PME for the external connection, and requires SNE for connections to privately owned rising and lateral mains and for internal sub-mains, and it treats steel-framed buildings differently because of neutral current through the frame. So a flat may be fed on separate earth and neutral conductors from an intake that has PME. Other operators have their own specifications. If you cannot see the intake, ask the network operator and write "by enquiry". The earthing arrangements guide covers the wider picture.
Does each flat need its own main bonding?
Yes. Each flat is an installation, so Regulation 411.3.1.2 applies to each one: extraneous-conductive-parts entering the flat need connecting to that flat's main earthing terminal. Regulation 544.1.2 asks for the connection as near as practicable to the point of entry, within 600 mm of the meter only where the meter is inside the installation. It does not mean running a conductor from every flat back to a remote meter room, which is how the replies went in an IET EngX thread on an 18-flat block with its gas and water meters in an outside cupboard.
Two things catch people out:
- Plastic rising pipes. If the service reaches the flat in plastic, it may not be extraneous at all. The GN8 22 kΩ check settles it, so test rather than assume, and don't code a missing bond on a part that doesn't need one.
- Size. Size it on the supply to the block as you have established it. Main Protective Bonding Explained has the Table 54.8 bands.
What observations come up on flats, and how do you code them?
The codes below follow Electrical Safety First's Best Practice Guide 4 approach, and the final call stays with the inspector. Each is for what you find on the day.
| Finding | Usual code | Why |
|---|---|---|
| No RCD on sockets in an older flat | C3 | Not to current 411.3.3, but no danger on its own. Higher if sockets feed outdoor equipment |
| Concealed cables under 50 mm with no RCD | C3 | NICEIC's answer in Voltimum's Q-Day column: normally C3, inspector's judgement |
| Missing main bonding to metal pipes in the flat | C2 | Fault could leave pipework live |
| Borrowed neutral between flat and landing light | C2 | Neutral can stay live with the circuit isolated. Reg 314.4 |
| Flat with no main switch | Normally C2 | Reg 462.1.201. No safe way to isolate the flat |
| Combustible consumer unit in the flat | C3 | 421.1.201 applies to new work. Worse if it sits in the escape route |
| Unlabelled isolators in a landing bank | C3 | Reg 514.1.1. Label or recommend labelling |
| Unsealed penetrations in a riser | C2 or C3 on risk | Reg 527.2. Consider compartmentation and location |
| Cable on plastic clips in an escape route | Usually C3 | Reg 521.10.202 for new work. Escalate if a large run could collapse across the route |
| Storage in the meter cupboard or riser | Report in writing | Outside the flat's extent. Judge on risk on the communal report |
The borrowed neutral between installations deserves its own mention. Between a flat and the landlord's lighting, the person isolating at the flat's board may have no idea another installation is sharing it. A neutral-to-neutral insulation test finds it. Details are in Borrowed Neutrals: Find, Test, Code.
An FI is advisory on the overall result on the A4 forms, since only C1 and C2 make a report unsatisfactory. But GOV.UK applies the 28-day period to further investigative work, so on a rented flat in England a written FI still starts a clock for the landlord. Don't write one just because you could not get into the intake. That is a limitation, not an FI, unless it stops you confirming something you need, like the earthing.
What does a communal EICR include?
Electrical Safety First's guide says the installation is everything downstream of the supply meter, and specifically that risers should be accessed and inspected during periodic inspection, that door entry supplies are inspected and tested in ongoing EICRs, and that EV charge points and their supplies need maintaining and inspecting. Emergency lighting itself sits outside the guide and goes to BS 5266. Report the supply, and point the client at the BS 5266 guide for the luminaire tests.
A typical scope list for the agent:
- Landlord's intake, meter onward, and every distribution board
- Sub-mains to plant, bin stores and outbuildings, and BNO-owned mains
- Stair, corridor and external lighting supplies
- Supplies to door entry, fire alarm, emergency lighting, lifts and communal heating
- Any EV charge points on the landlord's supply
The guide also says boards should be in locked cupboards or rooms separated from escape routes by fire-resisting construction, and that risers are not for storage. Both make easy, useful observations. Many blocks have a three-phase landlord's board, so see Three-Phase Testing.
What does each client need from you?
For a rented flat in England, the landlord's position is set by the 2020 Regulations, now extended to social housing by S.I. 2025/1043: a copy to the existing tenant within 28 days of the inspection, to the council within seven days of a written request, to a new tenant before they occupy, and to a prospective tenant within 28 days of asking. Remedial or investigative work has 28 days from the inspection date or any shorter period you state. Written confirmation goes to the tenant and council within 28 days of completion. The England landlord guide has the detail, and Scotland and Wales differ.
The communal client needs something they can hand to a fire risk assessor who isn't an electrician. Name the block, list what was covered, and give a location a non-electrician could find: "third floor east landing, no cpc at luminaire" rather than "circuit 3, no cpc".
Keep the client name right. A flat EICR ordered by a letting agent still has the landlord as the duty holder, and the report should be issued accordingly. Ask at the start who the communal report is for: a freeholder, an RTM company and a managing agent are different clients.
How Certio helps
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