Electrics and gas
What did the visit record about cloth-wrapped tails, about the meter cupboard, and about a test the surveyor is not there to certificate?
It recorded cloth-wrapped tails and the meter cupboard only as far as they were visible, and it recorded that testing for a certificate was not this surveyor's job. Tails are the conductors between the supply head and the consumer unit. Cloth wrapping is an old finish the eye can note. It is not a test of insulation resistance, polarity or the condition of the conductor under the cloth. The cupboard was seen. No electrical certificate was produced.
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?
Cloth, rubber and early sheathing perish, crack and hide the conductor. A tidy cupboard can still contain brittle tails, and a scruffy cupboard can contain renewed ones. The visit did not disconnect anything and is not the party that certificates an installation. Distribution equipment at the head may also belong to the supplier, which is another reason a home survey does not carry out a live test and issue a certificate. What was recorded is appearance and the limit.
Ask the solicitor whether an EICR or a supplier's notice about the tails already exists. An electrician can inspect and, where the rules allow, advise on the tails, but some work at the head needs the supply company. Tell a lender the survey noted cloth-wrapped tails in the cupboard and did not certificate a test. Do not describe old cloth as either condemned or accepted. It was observed, not certificated.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Were the cloth-wrapped tails only seen in the meter cupboard?
- Did this visit produce any electrical certificate?
- Is testing the tails outside what the surveyor was there to do?
What are the typical next steps?
- Record the tails as visible old wiring, not as a test.
- Ask the solicitor for any EICR or supply-company notice.
- Use an electrician if the tails need a certificated inspection.
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
Does a new meter mean the tails were renewed?
Not by itself. Meters are changed by the supplier and the tails can be left in place. The survey saw cloth wrapping and did not certificate a test. Ask the solicitor if any notice says the tails were replaced. A new meter face is not that notice and is not an installation certificate.
Are cloth-wrapped tails a gas defect because they share a cupboard?
No. They are an electrical observation in the meter cupboard. The survey did not test gas and did not test the tails. Keep the services separate when you brief the solicitor. An electrician is the trade for the tails. A gas engineer is not the person who certificates this cable.