Electrics and gas
Do rubber-insulated cable, together with a loft junction box, count as evidence on live testing that was not in the instruction, or only as a note of what was visible?
Live testing was never instructed. Rubber-insulated cable and a loft junction box were seen, and they are not evidence of a live test. Rubber insulation perishes and a junction box can hide loose or untaped conductors, but those are reasons for an electrician, not results already obtained. The survey recorded the cable type and the box it could see. It has not tested the circuit and has not certificated the loft wiring.
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?
VIR cable is vulcanised-rubber insulation, common in older lighting runs in lofts. Heat, rodents and decades of air leave it brittle, and a junction box is simply where conductors were joined. Seeing both tells you old wiring is present at that point. It does not measure insulation resistance, polarity or earth continuity, and it does not show every joint buried under insulation. The instruction stopped at inspection of what was visible. Live tests were never part of it.
Ask the solicitor for an EICR, and if the loft is the concern, tell the electrician that rubber cable and a junction box were noted and not live-tested. That electrician's work is a new instruction. Tell a lender the survey's limit in plain words: visible rubber-insulated cable, a loft box, no live test. Do not upgrade the note into a satisfactory installation, and do not condemn every circuit from one box the survey did not open.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Was rubber-insulated cable only seen, not live-tested?
- Did the instruction exclude live testing of the loft junction box?
- Has the circuit been left without a certificate from this visit?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the cable and the box as a visual note only.
- Ask the solicitor for an electrical condition report.
- Tell an electrician the loft wiring was not live-tested.
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 quilt covering the junction box count as an inspection?
No. Insulation quilt hides lids, conductors and scorch marks. If the box was partly covered, the visible note is even narrower. The survey did not live-test what it could not fully see. Ask for the quilt to be moved only as part of an electrician's visit, not as a substitute for the test that was never instructed.
Is rubber cable the same defect as a plastic consumer unit?
No. Rubber-insulated cable in the loft is old wiring at a junction. A plastic consumer unit is an enclosure elsewhere. This survey did not live-test either, and one does not prove the other. Keep the loft note for the electrician who inspects the circuits. Do not file them as a single result.