EICR in Aberdeenshire from £150 + VAT
We inspect and test the wiring in Aberdeenshire houses, rented flats, HMOs, holiday lets, farmhouses and steadings, and issue the Electrical Installation Condition Report a tenancy, licence, buyer or insurer asks for. £150 + VAT covers the main board and first 5 circuits, and a garage, steading or workshop with its own board is £70 + VAT plus £15 + VAT per circuit. Most bookings are within 5 to 10 working days, sooner when a tenancy start depends on it. Call 07304 027013 for a fixed written price.
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An EICR in Aberdeenshire from Faithful Spark Electricians starts at £150 + VAT for the main consumer unit and its first 5 circuits, with each further circuit at £15 + VAT. Every extra board, in a garage, steading, annexe or workshop, adds £70 + VAT plus £15 + VAT for each circuit on it, so a farmhouse is priced on what is really there. Private landlords need one before a property is first let and then at least every five years, and short term let hosts need one under their licence. Our own NICEIC registered team, based in Peterhead, carries out the inspection and talks you through every finding before we leave.
| Domestic EICR | From £150 + VAT, main board and first 5 circuits |
|---|---|
| Each circuit above 5 | £15 + VAT |
| Outbuilding, steading or sub board | £70 + VAT per board, plus £15 + VAT per circuit on it |
| Commercial premises | From £300 + VAT, priced on circuit count |
| Private rented homes | Before the first let, then at least every 5 years |
| Licensed short term lets | At least every 5 years, plus PAT on appliances guests can use |
| Licensing in the shire | Aberdeenshire Council licenses HMOs and short term lets |
| Standard reported against | BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 |
| Inspection qualification | City and Guilds 2391-52, held by Steven Watt |
EICR pages for Aberdeenshire towns
The bigger shire towns have their own EICR page, with the housing we meet there and the local detail. Pick yours, or read on for rural property anywhere in the county.
No page for your town yet? We also inspect in Inverurie, Kintore, Oldmeldrum, Turriff, Huntly, Banff, Macduff, Banchory, Aboyne, Ballater, Stonehaven, Laurencekirk and the farms between them. Addresses within about an hour of Peterhead carry no travel surcharge. For the remotest parts of the county a small travel charge can apply, and you hear the figure when you book, never on the invoice. Where we can, we group visits in the same area on the same day. Inside the city boundary? See our page for an EICR in Aberdeen.
How much does an EICR cost in Aberdeenshire?
There is no set price for an EICR in Scotland. Ours is built from boards and circuits, because they are what take the time, and on rural property the extra boards are exactly what a price per bedroom misses.
Our published rates
| Main board and first 5 circuits | £150 + VAT |
| Each circuit above 5 | £15 + VAT |
| Each extra board | £70 + VAT |
| Each circuit on an extra board | £15 + VAT |
| Commercial premises | from £300 + VAT |
House guides: 2 bed about £255, 3 bed about £315, 4 bed about £375, all + VAT. Guides, not ceilings.
Worked example: farmhouse and two outbuildings
| Farmhouse board, 12 circuits | £255 |
| Steading or holiday let board, 8 circuits | £190 |
| Workshop board, 4 circuits | £130 |
| One report, three boards | £575 + VAT |
Worked from the rates opposite to show how the model adds up. Your own figure comes from your own boards.
Get your fixed price
Tell us the postcode, how many buildings have their own board, and roughly how many breakers each one has. Photos of the boards are enough. You get a fixed written price within one working day, and it does not change on the day.
Call 07304 027013What the price includes
- Every circuit on every board inspected and tested, with the readings on the report
- A separate schedule of results for each board, so the farmhouse, steading and workshop are each recorded properly
- The cable feeding each outbuilding checked from end to end, as far as it can be reached
- Every observation coded and explained to you in plain English
- The digital report, never charged as an extra, copied to your agent if you ask
- PAT testing of landlord or guest appliances on the same visit if you want it
Comparing quotes
Online booking platforms advertise EICRs from well under £100. Before comparing, check three things. Does the figure include VAT? Ours is shown before it, so £150 + VAT is £180 in total. How many circuits does it cover? And are outbuildings and sub boards included, or added when the inspector finds them? On a rural property that last question decides the final bill, which is why our rate for an extra board is published here.
Book an EICR anywhere in Aberdeenshire
Send the postcode and photos of each board. Written price within one working day, and no charge for quoting.
EICRs for farmhouses, steadings and outbuildings in Aberdeenshire
A rural Aberdeenshire installation is often one supply feeding several buildings: a board in the farmhouse, another in the converted steading, one in the workshop, and armoured cable running between them that nobody has a record of. It is still one installation, so you get one report, but the testing grows with every board.
What changes on a property with several boards
- Finding the origin. Pole mounted intakes, meters sitting in an outbuilding, and supplies split when part of a steading was sold all have to be worked out before testing starts.
- Checking each sub main. Cable type and size against the load and the length of run, voltage drop, the protective device at the supply end, isolation at the far end, and the armour glanding where the armour is the earth path.
- Selectivity. A fault in the stables should trip the stables, not black out the farmhouse. We check how the devices at the origin and at each outbuilding work together.
- Access. Boards behind stacked feed, in lofts or in a building that has not been opened since spring. Anything we cannot reach is agreed with you and written on the report as a limitation, rather than quietly left out.
Livestock buildings and BS 7671 Section 705
Section 705 of BS 7671 covers agricultural and horticultural premises. Two parts of it matter most at inspection. RCD protection is required there whatever the earthing system, so a farm on an ordinary network earth does not escape it. And where livestock are kept, the metalwork they can touch needs supplementary bonding, which corrodes away quietly in damp and slurry. The farmhouse is assessed as a dwelling; the working buildings are assessed as agricultural premises. We agree which parts are in scope, and on what basis, before we start.
Three phase boards on farms and rural units
Grain driers, ventilation, parlours and workshop machinery often run on three phase. Insulation testing goes from three combinations per circuit to ten, phase rotation is checked wherever motors are connected, and motor isolation comes into scope. On a working holding the real limit is when each board can be switched off, so we plan around milking, drying and livestock rather than our own diary.
Run the farm or a rural unit as a business? The working buildings can be inspected as a commercial EICR, from £300 + VAT. Either way, tell us how many buildings have a board when you call and we plan the day around it.
TT earthing, earth electrodes and private water pumps
Many rural Aberdeenshire properties are fed by an overhead line that brings no earth from the network. The property then stands on its own earth electrode, a rod in the ground, and the installation is what BS 7671 calls TT. On a TT supply the RCD is not the backup. It is the main protection against electric shock.
On a town supply a fault returns through metal, so plenty of current flows and a breaker trips quickly. On TT the return path runs through the soil. The resistance is far higher and the fault current is often too small to trip a breaker at all, which leaves the RCD to do the job on its own. That is why old rural properties pick up codes that town houses never see.
What we test on a TT installation
- The earth electrode resistance, and whether the reading is believable for the ground and the season
- The electrode connection itself: rods corroded through at ground level, clamps painted over or broken, and conductors buried under a later extension
- That every RCD trips, and trips fast enough for a TT installation
- How a time delayed RCD at the origin works with the 30 mA devices at each outbuilding
- Main protective bonding, which matters more when the earth is local
Borehole and spring pump circuits
Homes on a private water supply usually have a pump in a pump house or down a borehole, fed from the house board or an outbuilding. That circuit is part of the fixed installation, so it is inspected and tested like any other: the cable out to the pump, its protection and isolation, and the state of the enclosures in a damp pump house. If the property is also a licensed short term let, its licence carries separate water safety conditions for a private supply, on top of the electrical one.
Planning an EV charger installation in Aberdeenshire on a TT supply? Book the EICR first. It tells us what the earthing and the board can take before anything is ordered.
EICR codes on rural property under Amendment 4
On a report written to BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, a C1 or C2 makes the EICR unsatisfactory. C3 and FI are advisory and do not make it unsatisfactory on their own.
Limitations are not the same as FI
Rural inspections meet things nobody can fully see: a sub main buried somewhere between the farmhouse and the steading, circuits that cannot be traced to a load, a building that is locked on the day. We write down the agreed extent of the inspection and record those as limitations. Undocumented old work does not earn an FI by itself. FI, further investigation is advised, is kept for a specific potential safety issue we have identified but could not fully assess within that agreed scope. Any defect we can establish is coded for what it is.
FI is advisory, not ignorable. Scottish Government guidance for private landlords says an FI should be investigated as soon as practically possible, because it may reveal a dangerous condition. We quote for the investigation in writing at the same time as any remedials.
What we commonly record on older rural property
C1, danger present: exposed live parts at a broken outbuilding accessory or a smashed weatherproof enclosure; a farm board with its cover missing; rodent stripped cable with conductors showing; and on a TT installation, a broken or missing connection to the earth electrode.
C2, potentially dangerous: rubber or fabric covered cable in old farm cottages; lighting circuits with no earth conductor; rewireable fuse boards with no RCD protection; missing main bonding or missing supplementary bonding in livestock areas; outdoor accessories corroded by salt air along the Buchan and Banff coast; and cable to an outbuilding that is undersized, unprotected, or plain twin and earth run underground.
The definitions behind each code are in EICR codes C1, C2, C3 and FI explained. Older reports used different FI wording, so check which edition is stated on yours.
After an unsatisfactory report
- C1 made safe on the day where it is practical
- C2 remedials and any FI investigation quoted in writing
- C3 explained, never sold as a failure
- Repairs recorded on a Minor Works Certificate, or an Electrical Installation Certificate if the board is replaced
- No obligation to use us for the remedial work
Where a rewireable fuse board has no RCD protection, a consumer unit upgrade in Aberdeenshire is the usual fix, from £550 to £950 + VAT. A dual RCD board that already protects the sockets generally does not need replacing, and we will say so.
For the order to tackle things in, read what to do if your EICR is unsatisfactory.
Report flagged C2 on a farm cottage or a let?
Send us the report and photos of the boards. We price the remedials and any FI investigation in writing within one working day.
Is an EICR a legal requirement in Scotland?
For private landlords and licensed short term let hosts, yes. For people living in their own home, no, although it is recommended. Here is who needs what across Aberdeenshire.
Private lets
The Repairing Standard guidance asks for an electrical safety inspection before a property is first let and then at intervals of no more than five years. It does not need redoing for each new tenancy if one was done in the five years before it starts. The inspection is the EICR on the fixed wiring plus PAT testing of appliances the landlord supplies, not the tenant's own.
At least one 30 mA RCD must sit in the main consumer unit, normally covering the sockets as a minimum; that does not mean every circuit needs its own. C1 and C2 items must be put right. New tenants get a copy of the latest report before the tenancy starts, the landlord keeps a copy for six years, and tenants cannot be made to pay for the inspection.
HMOs in Peterhead, Fraserburgh and the shire towns
Shared houses in Peterhead, Fraserburgh and the other shire towns need an HMO licence from Aberdeenshire Council. The five yearly inspection still applies, and the licence can carry conditions of its own, so read yours. An HMO takes longer to inspect than a family house with the same number of bedrooms, because shared kitchens and extra rooms add circuits. We price it on the real circuit count, plus the extra inspection and paperwork it needs.
Holiday lets and short term lets
Every Scottish short term let licence carries a mandatory electrical safety condition. The host must arrange an inspection by a competent person at least every five years, or sooner if that person directs, with an EICR on the fixed installation and a PAT report on moveable appliances guests can use, each dated, labelled and signed. The condition is in Schedule 3 of the Licensing of Short term Lets Order 2022. Converted steadings and cottages let to visitors usually have their own board, which our extra board rate already allows for, and we time the visit around your bookings.
Owner occupiers
No law makes you have an EICR on the home you live in. Electrical Safety First recommends one every ten years for owner occupiers. The times it really earns its keep are before you buy an older property, before you sell, before major work such as an EV charger or a new kitchen, and when an insurer asks.
Sources: Repairing Standard statutory guidance, Annex D3 (paragraphs D.55 to D.86), read 6 October 2026. Letting agents with properties across the city and the shire can use our landlord electrical services to keep EICR, PAT and remedials on one schedule.
Can a landlord be fined for not having an EICR in Scotland?
Not with the council fine of up to £30,000 that some online summaries describe. That figure comes from England's 2020 private rented sector electrical safety regulations, which apply to English councils and English lets only. An Aberdeenshire landlord faces a different, Scottish process.
- The tenant applies to the First tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber), which enforces the Repairing Standard. A council can apply on behalf of a tenant who feels vulnerable.
- The Tribunal can issue a Repairing Standard Enforcement Order requiring the work to be done.
- Failing to comply with that order without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence.
- The council can carry out the work itself and recover the cost from the landlord once the Tribunal has found the order was not met.
- The Tribunal can also issue a Rent Relief Order, cutting the rent payable until the order is complied with.
Separately, every private landlord must be registered with the council as a fit and proper person to let property, and the council deals with tenant complaints about registered landlords. Sources: Repairing Standard guidance, section 6, and for the England figure, regulation 11 of the 2020 England regulations.
The cheap way to avoid all of it
Book the inspection a few weeks before the five years are up or before the tenancy starts, not the week of it. That leaves time to do any remedials properly, and time for a second quote if you want one.
We keep a note of your next due date and remind you before it comes round.
Call 07304 027013Can a normal electrician do an EICR?
Yes, if they are competent in inspection and testing. For a rented home the landlord also has to be able to show that competence, and the Scottish guidance sets out how.
Annex D3 of the Repairing Standard guidance (D.61 and D.62) accepts an electrician employed by a firm in a recognised registration scheme such as NICEIC or NAPIT, or a sole trader who is a member. Anyone else has to confirm a checklist: public liability insurance (£2 million recommended), training on the current BS 7671 within the last five years, calibrated test equipment, and evidence of trade qualifications. The individual qualification to ask about is City and Guilds 2391-52 in inspection and testing.
Faithful Spark Electricians is a NICEIC Approved Contractor, enrolment 620239, assessed every year. The work is done by our own team, led by Steven Watt with Callum working alongside him. Steven holds City and Guilds 2391-52, 2382-22 for BS 7671 and the 2365-03 Level 3 Diploma. We are TrustMark registered, licence 4205123, an OZEV authorised installer, EVHS/WCS14254, and carry £2M public liability. Need an electrician in Aberdeenshire for the remedials or new work afterwards? It is the same team.
"From the initial meeting we were impressed with the work and professionalism. Steven turned up exactly as scheduled and kept constant communication throughout. Would have no hesitation recommending Faithful Spark."
Check us on the NICEIC register before you book.
Tenancy, licence or sale coming up?
Tell us the date you are working to. Urgent bookings for a tenancy start are usually made within 2 to 5 working days.
Older granite homes, selling, and free safety checks
Older granite and stone properties
Thick stone walls mean wiring that is surface run, chased into lime plaster, or fed through from a later extension, often by several different hands over the decades. The test that finds tired rubber and early PVC cable inside those walls is insulation resistance, done circuit by circuit. Lighting circuits with no earth conductor are common in older cottages, and they matter if anyone has since fitted metal light fittings. An EICR before you buy or renovate tells you which of these you have before you budget.
Can I sell my house without an electrical safety certificate?
Yes. Scotland does not require an EICR to sell a home. The Home Report documents set by the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 (Prescribed Documents) Regulations 2008 are a survey report, which carries the energy efficiency information, and a property questionnaire completed by the seller. An EICR is not one of them, and Electrical Safety First confirms you do not need one to sell. A buyer can still ask for one, and a satisfactory report answers the question before it slows the sale.
Where can I get a free electrical safety check?
There is no general free electrical inspection scheme for Aberdeenshire homes that we can point you to. What you can do for nothing: press the test button on each RCD on your board, as Electrical Safety First advises, and call a registered electrician if one does not trip; look for scorch marks, buzzing or crackling, and plugs or sockets that run warm. If you rent privately, ask your landlord for the current EICR, which a new tenant must be given before the tenancy starts, and which tenants cannot be charged for. From us, the quote is free: send photos of the board and we price the EICR in writing within one working day.
EICR Aberdeenshire questions
Not answered here? Call 07304 027013 or send us a message.
How much does an EICR cost in Aberdeenshire?
Our EICR starts at £150 + VAT for the main board and the first 5 circuits. Each extra circuit is £15 + VAT. Each extra board, such as one in a garage, steading or workshop, is £70 + VAT plus £15 + VAT per circuit on it. A commercial EICR starts at £300 + VAT.
How much does an EICR cost in Scotland?
There is no fixed national price. Advertised figures run from under £100 upwards, but some include VAT and most cover only a few circuits. Compare quotes on VAT, the number of circuits included, and the charge for each extra circuit and each extra board.
Does each outbuilding need its own EICR?
No. Buildings fed from the same supply form one installation and get one report. Each board inside it gets its own schedule of test results, and the cable feeding each outbuilding is checked. That is why we price an extra board at £70 + VAT plus £15 + VAT per circuit on it.
Is an EICR a legal requirement in Scotland?
For private landlords, yes: before a property is first let and then at least every five years, under the Repairing Standard. Licensed short term lets need one at least every five years under the licence. Owner occupiers have no legal duty, and Electrical Safety First recommends an inspection every ten years.
Can a landlord be fined for not having an EICR in Scotland?
Scotland does not use the council fine of up to £30,000 that applies in England. A tenant can apply to the First tier Tribunal for Scotland, which can issue a Repairing Standard Enforcement Order. Failing to comply without reasonable excuse is a criminal offence, the council can do the work and recover the cost, and the Tribunal can issue a Rent Relief Order.
Can a normal electrician do an EICR?
Yes, if they are competent in inspection and testing. For a rented home, Scottish guidance accepts an electrician working for a firm in a registration scheme such as NICEIC or NAPIT as evidence of that competence. The qualification to ask about is City and Guilds 2391-52.
What makes an EICR unsatisfactory?
On a report written to BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, a C1 or C2 makes the EICR unsatisfactory. C3 and FI are advisory and do not make it unsatisfactory on their own. Circuits that cannot be traced, or a building we cannot get into, are recorded as limitations and do not automatically mean an FI. An FI should still be investigated promptly.
What is TT earthing and why does it matter on an EICR?
TT means the property has its own earth electrode instead of an earth from the network, which is common on overhead rural supplies. Fault current through the soil is often too small to trip a breaker, so the RCD becomes the main protection. We test the electrode, its connection and every RCD.
Do holiday lets in Aberdeenshire need an EICR?
Yes, if they are licensed short term lets. The licence requires an electrical safety inspection by a competent person at least every five years, with an EICR on the fixed installation and a PAT report on moveable appliances guests can use.
Can I sell my house without an electrical safety certificate?
Yes. Scotland does not require an EICR to sell, and it is not one of the Home Report documents. A buyer can still ask for one, and a satisfactory report answers the question early.
Where can I get a free electrical safety check?
There is no general free inspection scheme we can point you to. You can press the test button on each RCD and look for scorch marks, buzzing or warm sockets. Tenants can ask the landlord for the current EICR. Our EICR quote is free from photos of the board.
How long does an EICR take on a rural property?
A 1 or 2 bed flat takes about 2 to 3 hours and a 4 bed house about 4 to 6 hours. A farmhouse with outbuildings depends on the number of boards and circuits and, on a working farm, on when each board can be switched off. We tell you the expected time with the written price.
Book your EICR in Aberdeenshire
Call 07304 027013, message us on WhatsApp, or use the form. Tell us the postcode, how many buildings have their own board, whether the supply comes in overhead, and whether it is a home, a let, an HMO, a holiday let or a farm. We come back with a fixed written price within one working day.
Last updated 6 October 2026.
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Faithful Spark Electricians Ltd · 17 Thomson Road, Peterhead, Aberdeenshire, Scotland, AB42 3FJ · NICEIC Approved Contractor 620239 · TrustMark Registered 4205123 · OZEV Authorised Installer EVHS/WCS14254 · City and Guilds 2391-52, 2382-22, 2365-03 · Reports to BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 · £2M public liability · Company SC821028 · VAT 503 6560 13