Two of this year's landlord inspections in Shepton Mallet show both outcomes. One came back satisfactory; the other came back unsatisfactory for a single serious item. This page walks through what happens in each case, what the 28-day clock means in practice, and what it costs to get a rented house in the town back to a clean report.
Earlier this year we inspected a three-storey rented house in town with nine circuits and a supply out to a garage. The report came back unsatisfactory for one reason: there was no RCD protection. That was coded C2, potentially dangerous. There were also four C3s, which are improvements recommended rather than requirements.
It is a familiar picture in Shepton Mallet's Victorian stone terraces and older semis. Circuits have been added to or altered over the years, but the board at the centre of it all is old enough to predate RCDs, so nothing disconnects quickly if someone touches a live part or a cable is damaged. One C2 is enough to make the whole report unsatisfactory, however tidy the rest of the house is.
A second inspection in town this year came back satisfactory. Which way a report goes often comes down to the age of the consumer unit and how much has been added to the house since it was fitted.
Under the Electrical Safety Standards Regulations 2020, once a report requires remedial or further investigative work, you have 28 days to get it done, or less if the report gives a shorter period. You then have a further 28 days from completion to send written confirmation to the tenant and to the local housing authority. Put in order, it looks like this:
Two other points sit alongside the clock. If the council asks for the report in writing, it must have a copy within 7 days. And a new tenant must be handed the report before they move in. The inspection itself is repeated at intervals of no more than five years, or sooner if the report says so.
Every let is priced individually. The inspection depends on the size of the installation and the number of circuits, the alarms on the layout of the house, and a consumer unit change, if the report calls for one, on the board and its circuits. Remedials are priced after the inspection as a fixed written figure, so you know the cost before the 28 days start to matter.
Where the only serious finding is a lack of RCD protection, the fix is normally a new consumer unit rather than new wiring. We fit RCBO boards only: a main switch and a Type A RCBO on every circuit, in a metal enclosure, with Type 2 surge protection and AFDD on the bedroom socket circuits. If a fault develops on one circuit, only that circuit goes off, so a tenant with a faulty kettle does not lose the fridge and the lights as well.
Before a board change we check that the circuits will hold on an RCBO. Old wiring with low insulation resistance can trip as soon as it is protected, and it is better to know that at the inspection than on the day of the swap. The new board is tested, labelled, certified on an Electrical Installation Certificate and notified under Part P through NAPIT. More on the board itself on our consumer unit page for Shepton Mallet.
Rented houses with storage heating often have a patchwork of boards. This year we consolidated an Economy 7 dual-board set-up in town, two old consumer units and a bolt-on RCD box, into one metal RCBO board with surge protection and new 25mm² tails, with a full EICR alongside.
The Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, amended from 1 October 2022, need a smoke alarm on every storey with a room used wholly or partly as living accommodation, and a bathroom or toilet counts. A three-storey house therefore needs at least three. A carbon monoxide alarm is needed in any room used as living accommodation that has a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker. Alarms must be working on the first day of each new tenancy, and repaired or replaced when a tenant reports a fault.
The law does not specify mains or battery. We fit mains-powered alarms that are interlinked and have sealed back-up batteries, with a heat alarm rather than a smoke alarm in the kitchen. In one Shepton Mallet house this year that meant a mains optical smoke alarm in the hall and a heat alarm in the kitchen, linked by a cable run through the loft, plus a new kitchen socket at the same visit. See the smoke alarms page for Shepton Mallet for layouts and prices.
Real jobs from 2026, with names and addresses left out.
Leave your details and a line about the job. We will ring you back to talk it through and arrange a survey or a written price.
No. A C3 is an improvement recommended, not a requirement, and C3s on their own do not make a report unsatisfactory. They are still worth reading, because some, like an ageing board or a missing surge protector, are cheaper to deal with while we are there than on a separate visit later. Only C1, C2 and FI items bring in the 28-day remedial duty.
Often, if they are small and you agree the price on the day. Swapping a damaged accessory or adding a heat alarm can usually be done straight away. A consumer unit change needs its own booking, because the power is off for most of the day and the tenant needs warning. Either way the affected circuits are re-tested before the paperwork is updated.
Yes. The 2020 regulations cover every electrical installation in the let, and a supply to a garage or outbuilding that the tenant can use is part of it. We test the cable feeding it and the circuits inside, like any other part of the house, and outdoor runs get a close look for damage. Mention it when you book so the time is allowed for.
Nothing automatically. The council can ask in writing for a copy of the report, and then it must have one within 7 days. Where remedial work was required, written confirmation that it has been done must go to the council as well as the tenant, within 28 days of completion. We give you the updated certification to support that confirmation.
A typical three-bed house of six to ten circuits takes around two and a half to three hours on site. Three-storey houses and those with outbuildings take longer. The power goes off in short spells while circuits are tested, so the tenant can usually stay in during the visit.
Priced by the job, not by the hour. A written, fixed price after a survey, NAPIT certification on every notifiable job.
07889 334849