Electrics and gas
A cellar light is wired in rubber-sheathed cable and the circuit was not tested. What age clue is that cable, and what EICR has it not become?
The age clue is the rubber sheath itself, and it has not become an EICR. Rubber-sheathed cable on a cellar light is the look of an older installation, left in place when other parts of the house may have changed. The survey has recorded that sheath by looking. The circuit was not tested. An electrical installation condition report is a test and a certificate. This visit produced neither. The clue sits in the cable you can see. It is not a dated certificate, and it is not a pass for the cellar circuit.
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?
Rubber sheathing is how some older lighting cables were made. Finding it on one light tells you that length looks old. It does not date every other circuit, and it does not say the rubber is still serviceable. Those are electrical questions. The home survey did not open the fitting to a test, did not measure insulation, and did not write an EICR under another name. A cellar is often where old cable survives because nobody rewired the light. Survival is not a test result.
Ask an electrician to inspect the rubber-sheathed cable and to say what an EICR would cover, as a separate instruction. Tell the solicitor the survey saw the sheath and did not test the circuit. Do not describe the report as the electrical certificate. The age clue can be passed on. The certificate cannot, because it was not produced. Pass on the clue only.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Did the age clue you recorded sit in the rubber sheath?
- Was the cellar circuit left untested?
- Have you kept this visit distinct from an EICR?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the rubber sheath as an age clue, not as a test.
- Ask an electrician to inspect that cellar circuit.
- Do not call the home survey an EICR.
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 rest of the house has plastic cable, is the cellar modern too?
Not on the strength of other rooms. The age clue is the rubber sheath on this light. Plastic cable elsewhere may be newer. The survey has not tested either, and the rubber has not become an EICR. The cellar circuit stays an old-looking circuit until an electrician says more.
Does rubber sheathing on its own prove the light is dangerous?
No. It proves an age clue the survey could see. Danger is a judgement from a test, and the circuit was not tested. The report has not turned the sheath into an EICR and has not graded the light as failed. It has named the clue.