Electrics and gas
Rubber-sheathed cable is visible in the loft and the circuits were not tested. What age clue is that cable, and what safety verdict is missing?
The age clue is the rubber sheath itself: this is an older form of cable, visible in the loft, from a period of wiring that later practice moved away from. The safety verdict that is missing is any test of the circuits. The survey saw the cable and did not test it. It has not issued an electrical installation condition report, and it has not said the loft wiring is sound or failed. Rubber sheathing tells you about age and type where it could be seen. It does not measure insulation, polarity or earthing.
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?
Lofts often keep the oldest runs because nobody rewired above the ceiling when the rooms were decorated. A length of rubber-sheathed cable is a prompt to ask an electrician, not a completed enquiry. The surveyor can note colour, brittleness if it was obvious, and where the run disappeared. They cannot, without instruments and a proper brief, give the verdict a tested report would give. Do not fill that gap by deciding the house is dangerous, or safe, from the look of one length in the loft.
Point an electrician at the loft cable and say the circuits were not tested on the survey. Ask the solicitor whether any electrical certificate exists for the house at all. Keep the survey sentence as an age clue in a named place. If other modern cable was also seen, do not let that cancel the rubber. Mixed wiring is still untested wiring. The missing verdict is the electrical one, and only an electrical inspection supplies it.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Where did you see rubber-sheathed cable, and what of it was only visual?
- Have you stopped short of a safety verdict because the circuits were not tested?
- What should an electrician be shown that this survey did not test?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the rubber sheath as an age clue, not a test result.
- Do not invent a pass or a fail for the untested circuits.
- Instruct an electrician to inspect and report on the installation.
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 rubber is only on one lighting run, is the rest cleared?
No. One visible run is the run that was seen. Other circuits were not tested either. The survey has not given a safety verdict for the installation as a whole, or for that single length. Age is not a tested verdict.
Does taping over the rubber remove the age clue?
No. Tape hides the sheath. It does not change what the cable is and it is not an electrical test. The missing safety verdict remains missing. Covering the rubber does not test the circuit or clear the loft run that was seen.