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Electrics and gas

An electric-shower pull cord hangs over the bath and no RCD was identified for it. Why is that a visual flag and not an EICR code?

It is a visual flag because the home survey only saw the pull cord hanging over the bath and did not identify an RCD for it. An EICR code is the product of an electrical inspection, with its own tests and its own classification. This visit did not do that inspection. The cord over the bath, and no RCD identified, are observations for an electrician. They are not a code from this report.

Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.

What is the fuller explanation?

A pull cord over a bath is a switch you can reach from the water, which is why it belongs on an electrical inspection. Not identifying an RCD means no device was seen for that circuit. It does not prove there is none, and it does not record a trip test. The home survey does not open a consumer unit to assign codes. The flag says ask an electrician. It is not an EICR classification.

Instruct an electrician if you want an EICR or a check of this shower circuit, and keep their codes separate from the survey sentence. Tell the solicitor the report has not classified the cord. Do not tell a lender an electrical certificate exists because a cord was seen over the bath. The survey did not test the circuit and did not open the consumer unit.

What should you ask your surveyor?

  • Where does the electric-shower pull cord hang relative to the bath?
  • Did you identify an RCD for that circuit, or only note that you could not?
  • Is the comment a visual flag rather than an EICR code?

What are the typical next steps?

  1. Read the cord over the bath as a visual flag only.
  2. Ask an electrician if you need an EICR of the shower circuit.
  3. Do not quote the home survey as an electrical code.

Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.

Also asked about this

If the cord is plastic, is the shower circuit acceptable?

No. The material of the cord is not a test of the circuit, and no RCD was identified for it. The survey made a visual flag. It did not carry out an EICR and it did not assign a code. Plastic insulation on a cord does not show how the shower is protected. That question stays with an electrician.

Can the surveyor move the cord and then clear the flag?

Moving a cord would not be an electrical inspection, and it was not done as a remedy here. The flag is the position over the bath plus no RCD identified. An EICR, if you commission one, uses its own tests. The home survey does not convert into that report because a switch is within reach.

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