Condition ratings
The power was off and the electrics are marked NI. What test has that mark not failed, because it was not done?
That mark has not failed an electrical test, because no test was done. The power was off and the electrics are NI. NI means not inspected, not a pass. It also means the circuits were not failed. With the supply off, a live installation was not there to inspect in use, and a home survey does not produce an electrical installation condition report in any event. Rating 1, no repair currently needed, was not given. The electrics were not inspected.
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?
Ratings attach to what was inspected. Rating 2 would mean defects that need repair but are not serious or urgent, and rating 3 would mean serious and/or urgent repair, replacement or investigation. None of those was applied to the electrics. NI is not a quiet fail and it is not a quiet pass. Power off is why. Dead sockets are not a test result. The survey has not condemned the wiring and it has not cleared it. An electrician's test is a different product.
Have the power available if you want the installation looked at, and instruct an electrician for the test this survey did not do. Tell the solicitor the electrics are NI because the power was off. Do not tell a lender the wiring failed, and do not tell them it passed. The report has not produced an electrical certificate. NI records that the test was not done. It is not itself a failed test.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Were the electrics marked NI because the power was off?
- Does NI mean a test was failed, or that no test was done?
- Was any electrical certificate produced by this survey?
What are the typical next steps?
- Read NI as not inspected, not as a failed electrical test.
- Instruct an electrician if you want a test with the power available.
- Do not tell a lender the wiring passed or failed.
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 consumer unit looks new, can NI be read as rating 1?
No. Rating 1 means no repair currently needed, and that judgement needs an inspection. The power was off, so the electrics are NI, which means not inspected, not a pass. A new-looking unit was not tested. Appearance does not change the mark into a pass, and it does not turn it into a fail either.
Does NI on the electrics put the whole house at rating 3?
No. Rating 3 means serious and/or urgent repair, replacement or investigation, and that rating was not given to the electrics or, by this mark, to the house. NI means not inspected. It does not infect other elements that were inspected and rated on their own. The electrical test simply was not done.