Electrics and gas
The consumer unit still has rewireable fuses. Is that sentence already an electrical installation condition report?
No. A sentence that the consumer unit still has rewireable fuses is not an electrical installation condition report. It is a visual note of what is in the cupboard. The survey has not tested the circuits, measured the earthing, or produced an EICR. Rewireable fuses are an older form of protection the surveyor could see. Seeing them names the equipment. It does not grade the installation, clear it, or stand in for the report an electrician issues. The home survey has stopped at the observation.
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?
An EICR is a different product, with tests and a conclusion an inspector is responsible for. Rented homes have their own regime for that certificate. A buyer reading a home survey is not holding that certificate just because fuses were mentioned. The surveyor can say the cover was on or off, that fuse wire was present, and that no test was done. Those limits protect you from treating a cupboard glance as a safety pass. If the cover stayed on, even the fuse carriers may only have been partly seen.
If you need an electrical verdict, instruct an electrician to inspect and, where appropriate, to report in the form that job uses. Tell them the survey only noted rewireable fuses and did not test. Do not send the survey sentence to a lender labelled as an EICR. The solicitor can record that no electrical certificate was in the pack. The fuses remain an age and type clue until someone whose work is electrics has actually tested the installation.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Did you only see rewireable fuses, without testing the circuits?
- Is your sentence a condition note rather than an EICR?
- What electrical certificate was not in the papers you reviewed?
What are the typical next steps?
- Read the fuse note as a visual comment, not an EICR.
- Do not tell a lender the survey tested the electrics.
- Instruct an electrician if you need a proper electrical report.
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 fuses look neat and labelled, is the installation then satisfactory?
No. Neat labels are housekeeping. They are not the tests an electrical report would include, and the survey has not produced an EICR or a safety verdict on the circuits. The cupboard note is not that tested electrical report at all.
Does a recent consumer-unit swap, if there was one, appear in this sentence?
Only if the surveyor saw it. The sentence you have is about rewireable fuses still being there. It does not describe other circuits, and it is still not an electrical installation condition report. Seeing those fuses is not the certificate.