What it costs
A periodic inspection report on a typical Irish home runs €150 to €300. Price follows the number of circuits rather than the floor area, so a three-bed semi sits near the bottom and a large or extended house near the top. An apartment is usually cheapest of all.
| Property | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Apartment or one-bed | €150–€200 |
| Standard three-bed house | €200–€250 |
| Large or extended house | €250–€300 |
| House let room by room | Top of range, more circuits in use |
Any remedial work found is quoted separately. A good contractor separates the two clearly, so you can see what the inspection cost and what fixing anything would cost.
What it is, and what it is not
A periodic inspection report assesses the condition of an installation that already exists. It is not the same as a Completion Certificate, which certifies new work at the point it is finished.
People conflate the two constantly, and it matters: if you have had a board replaced or a circuit added, you should already hold a Completion Certificate for that work. The periodic report is the broader health check over everything. Both can only be issued by a registered contractor.
What the electrician actually checks
- The consumer unit: protective devices, labelling, signs of heat or corrosion
- Earthing and bonding, including to water and gas services where present
- Insulation resistance on every circuit, which is what finds deteriorating cable
- RCD operation and trip times
- Polarity and continuity across sockets, switches and fittings
- Visible damage, overloaded circuits and unsafe alterations
Expect two to four hours on a normal house, with power off for parts of it. The report comes back listing anything found, ranked by how urgently it needs attention.
If it comes back unsatisfactory
This is common in older housing and is not a disaster. The report tells you which items are genuinely dangerous and need immediate work, and which are improvements that can be planned.
The usual outcomes in Limerick houses are a consumer unit upgrade, bonding that was never brought up to standard, or one deteriorated circuit needing replacement. Occasionally the cable itself has failed, in which case you are looking at a partial or full rewire and the report has just saved you from finding out the hard way.
Landlords: what to have on file
Letting agents increasingly ask for an electrical report before taking a property on, and insurers ask after any incident. There is no fixed national renewal interval written into residential tenancy law, but the widely used benchmark is every five years, or at change of tenancy, whichever comes first.
Book it between tenancies
Power has to go off, and anything found needs fixing. A vacant fortnight between tenants is far easier than trying to coordinate around people living there.
Houses let room by room
These need it most. Six tenants means six kettles, six heaters and a lot of extension leads on circuits designed for a family of four. Around the university in particular, this is the single most common reason a landlord calls us.
Selling or buying
A solicitor may raise electrical certification during a sale, especially if work has visibly been done. If you are selling a house that has been rewired or reboarded and you cannot find the certificate, a periodic report is the practical way to demonstrate the installation is sound. If you are buying an older house, one is worth the €200 before you commit.
Get this priced
Send your eircode, a photo of the fuse board, and a line about what you need. Most jobs can be quoted without a call-out.