Do You Need an Electrical Certificate When Selling Your House?

Selling a house is stressful enough without unexpected hitches during conveyancing. Electrical certificates are one of the most commonly requested documents that sellers cannot produce — and the absence of them is increasingly a negotiating lever for buyers. This guide explains what is actually required by law, what buyers have a right to ask for, and how to handle an EICR that comes back with issues.

What Is Legally Required vs Recommended

In England and Wales, there is currently no statutory requirement for a seller to provide an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) or Part P completion certificates as part of a residential sale. This contrasts with gas safety — where a current Gas Safety Certificate is strongly expected — but the principle is similar: buyers are increasingly treating electrical safety documentation as standard.

The Law Society's standard TA6 property information form (completed by sellers) asks about electrical work carried out and whether appropriate certificates were obtained. Sellers must answer these questions honestly. Saying "unknown" is acceptable if genuinely the case, but claiming work was certified when it was not is a misrepresentation that could expose you to legal liability after completion.

Should You Get an EICR Before Selling?

Proactively commissioning an EICR before you put your home on the market is increasingly good practice for several reasons:

• It eliminates uncertainty — buyers and their solicitors cannot use electrical condition as a negotiating chip if you already have a clean report
• It prevents late-in-the-day shocks — an EICR requested by a buyer's solicitor during conveyancing, after you have already accepted an offer, puts you in a weak position
• It demonstrates good faith — a satisfactory EICR signals you have maintained the property properly
• It can speed up the sale — buyers proceeding with confidence, rather than raising queries, means faster exchange

An EICR costs £150–£350 for a typical house — modest compared to the leverage it removes from a buyer's solicitor. For a full explanation of what an EICR involves, see our guide: What is an EICR and when do you need one?

Part P Certificates When Selling

If electrical work was carried out on your property after 2005, it should have generated a Part P completion certificate (formally called an Electrical Installation Certificate or Minor Works Certificate). Common notifiable jobs include consumer unit replacement, new circuits, and bathroom electrical work. See our guide to Part P regulations for a full list of what is notifiable.

If you had this work done but cannot find the certificate:

• Contact the electrician who did the work — they should have a copy
• Check with your local authority building control — notifications are registered there
• If work was done by a Competent Person Scheme member, the scheme may hold records
• If records cannot be found, an EICR of the installation will be the next best thing for a buyer

What Buyers Have a Right to Ask For

Buyers do not have a legal right to demand an EICR or certificates — but they can make their offer conditional on receiving a satisfactory electrical report. This is increasingly common in 2026, particularly for older properties, buy-to-let purchases, and where buyers are using a mortgage (some lenders now require an EICR for certain property types).

A buyer's solicitor may raise an enquiry about electrical safety if the property is old, if the TA6 form reveals work was done without certificates, or if the survey identifies concerns. You will need to respond to these enquiries before exchange. The options are typically: provide existing certificates, commission an EICR, agree a price reduction, or hold firm.

Negotiating When an EICR Has Issues

If an EICR comes back with C1 or C2 codes (danger present or potentially dangerous), this changes the conversation significantly. A buyer has legitimate grounds to request remedial work or a price reduction proportionate to the cost of fixing the issues. How to handle this:

• Get quotes for remedial work — A registered electrician should give you a fixed price to resolve the EICR codes. This is your negotiating anchor.
• Do the work before exchange — If the costs are reasonable, fixing the issues and getting a fresh report removes the leverage entirely.
• Price reduction in lieu — Deduct the cost of remediation from the agreed price. Get written agreement from both solicitors.
• Retention — Some buyers will agree a retention (money held back from completion funds until work is done by a set date).

C3 codes (improvement recommended but not immediately dangerous) are common in older properties and are generally not grounds for a significant reduction — they are advisory. Make sure you understand what you are seeing before conceding ground on price. Our guide on how to tell if your electrics are safe explains what the codes mean in plain English. When you need a qualified professional to carry out work before exchange, use our guide on finding a trustworthy electrician.

Frequently Asked Questions