Electrics and gas
There is an EV charger on the wall. Did the home survey test it?
No. Seeing a charge point on the drive or the garage wall is not a test of the unit, the cable, or the circuit that feeds it. The survey does not plug a car in, and it does not produce an Electrical Installation Condition Report for that equipment.
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 charger is a fixed electrical item. The surveyor can note that it is there, that the casing is damaged, or that the cable looks poorly supported. They cannot say the earthing arrangement is correct, that the circuit is dedicated, or that the device cuts out as it should. Those checks belong to a qualified person. A sticker on the lid may name an installer and a date. Read it as a label, not as a test carried out on the day of the survey.
GOV.UK’s five-year inspection rule is a landlord duty in the private and social rented sectors. It is not a duty on an owner-occupier seller to hand you a certificate for the charger. You may still want an electrician to include the charge point if you commission an EICR, and to say plainly whether it was within the scope. Any codes they use are not RICS ratings. Do not treat a modern-looking box as proof the rest of the house was rewired at the same time.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Did you see the charger, and did you test it? Please separate those two.
- Was any certificate shown to you, or only the unit on the wall?
- Does your note cover the house circuits as well, or only this box?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask the seller for the installation paperwork and any later inspection, and read what it actually covers.
- If you need a present-day view, ask an electrician to include the charger in a scoped inspection.
- Do not assume the drive unit means the under-stairs board was tested.
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
Is a charger the same thing as an outside socket?
No. It is its own piece of equipment. A comment on a garden socket does not test this unit.
Does damage to the casing, by itself, write an EICR code?
No. The survey can describe the damage. Only the electrical inspection assigns C1, C2, C3 or FI, and those are not condition ratings.