Electrics and gas
The meter tails are fabric-covered and the rest of the board looks newer. What tails has the newer board not replaced?
The tails the newer board has not replaced are the fabric-covered meter tails. The rest of the board looks newer, but the tails between the meter and that board are still the older fabric-covered ones. The survey has seen that contrast. It has not tested the tails, has not decided the rest of the installation matches the new-looking board, and has not treated a neat lid as a rewire. The tails are the old part this note can point at.
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?
Meter tails are the cables from the meter into the consumer unit. Fabric covering is an older finish, and it can be left in place when only the board is changed. Looking newer at the breakers does not pull new tails through. The surveyor could see the fabric and the newer-looking board. They did not insulation-test those tails and did not open the supply head. A visual contrast is the finding. It is not an electrical installation condition report, and it does not say the hidden wiring elsewhere was renewed.
Ask an electrician to inspect the meter tails and to say whether they should be replaced, as a job separate from admiring the board. Tell the solicitor the survey saw fabric-covered tails beside a newer-looking board and did not test them. Do not describe the intake as renewed. Any certificate should be read for whether it mentions the tails or only the board.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Are the fabric-covered tails the cables between the meter and the board?
- Did the newer-looking board include new tails, or leave these in place?
- Were those tails tested, or only seen?
What are the typical next steps?
- Ask an electrician to inspect the meter tails rather than only the board.
- Tell the solicitor the tails are fabric-covered and were not tested.
- Read any certificate for whether it mentions the tails or only the board.
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 breakers look modern, are the meter tails the same age?
No. Modern breakers show that the devices in the board look recent. They do not show the age of the meter tails, which this note records as fabric-covered. The newer board has not replaced those tails. The survey did not test either the breakers or the tails.
Were the fabric-covered tails electrically tested, or only seen?
They were only seen. The survey did not carry out an insulation test, a polarity check, or any other electrical test on the fabric-covered tails. Seeing the covering beside a newer-looking board is the whole of this note. A test would be an electrician's job, and it has not been done here.