Areas we cover
Electricians in London and surrounding areas
We cover every London postcode, from the inner districts to the outer boroughs, and two towns just past the boundary, Epsom and Watford. Many homes here are flats, whether in a converted Victorian or Edwardian house, a purpose-built block or above a shop. In a shared building, the first question about a fault is often whose installation it is in. Below, we show how the electrics in a converted house are usually split, what landlords have to arrange, and who to call for what.
Towns
Towns we list in London
Every London borough, plus Epsom and Watford just beyond: Victorian and Edwardian terraces, interwar semis, houses converted into flats, purpose-built blocks and high-street parades with flats above.
We cover every London postcode: all of the E, EC, N, NW, SE, SW, W and WC districts, and the London districts of the BR, CR, DA, EN, HA, IG, KT, RM, SM, TW and UB areas. Each London borough has its own council. Epsom (Surrey) and Watford (Hertfordshire) are outside Greater London, so licensing, planning and building control there are handled by their own local councils. The towns below are the ones we mark on the map; if you are outside London and not near them, ask with your postcode before arranging anything.
London Borough of Enfield
- EnfieldEN
London Borough of Brent
- WembleyHA
London Borough of Redbridge
- IlfordIG
London Borough of Ealing
- SouthallUB
London Borough of Hounslow
- HounslowTW
Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames
- Kingston upon ThamesKT
London Borough of Croydon
- CroydonCR
London Borough of Bromley
- BromleyBR
Surrey
- EpsomKT
Hertfordshire
- WatfordWD
Explained
Electrics in a house converted into flats
When a house is divided into flats, one building ends up with several separate electrical installations, often the responsibility of different people. Knowing which part is whose tells you who to call when something goes wrong, and what an inspection of one flat does and does not cover.
Select a numbered part to highlight it on the drawing.
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The cable from the street and the cut-out (the main fuse) belong to your network operator. Report a power cut, or damage to either of them, by calling 105.
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Each flat usually has its own meter, and the shared parts have another. Meters belong to the energy supplier, so a fault with the meter itself goes to them. Labels showing which meter serves which flat save time on any visit.
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A separate supply, usually the responsibility of the freeholder or a management company, feeds the hallway and landing lights and sometimes a door entry system or fire alarm. A landlord’s five-yearly inspection of a let flat does not cover it, but it still needs to be checked and maintained.
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The cable from each meter to its flat often runs up the communal stairwell. It serves one flat but runs through shared parts of the building, so work on it can need the agreement of the freeholder or managing agent.
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The consumer unit and circuits in each flat form a separate installation, fed from that flat’s own meter. In a let flat, this is the installation the landlord’s five-yearly inspection covers.
Local guide
Letting in London boroughs
For the electrics in a let home, two sets of rules matter: the national electrical safety regulations for rented homes in England, and any licensing scheme your council runs. Epsom and Watford have their own councils outside London, but the national rules are the same there.
- The five-yearly inspection
- The regulations cover most private tenancies in England and, since late 2025, social housing; lodgers who share the landlord’s home and leases of seven years or more are among the exceptions. A qualified person has to inspect and test the installation at least once every five years, or at the shorter interval the last report recommends, and the findings are usually recorded on an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR).
- Copies of the report
- Each existing tenant needs a copy within 28 days of the inspection, and a new tenant needs one before moving in. A prospective tenant who asks in writing must get one within 28 days, and the council within 7 days of asking. Keep the report until the next inspection and give a copy to whoever carries it out.
- Remedial work
- Items coded C1 (danger present) or C2 (potentially dangerous), and anything marked for further investigation (FI), must be put right or investigated by a qualified person within 28 days, or any shorter period the report specifies. A C3 is a recommended improvement, not a requirement. Within 28 days of the work being finished, the landlord must send the tenant and the council the report, with written confirmation from the qualified person who did the work.
- Council licensing
- A house in multiple occupation let to five or more people from two or more households needs a licence from the council anywhere in England. Some councils also run additional or selective schemes covering other privately rented homes in all or part of their area. Schemes, conditions and fees differ and change over time, and conditions can include electrical safety requirements, so check your council’s current scheme before you let.
- Shared parts of the building
- The national regulations do not apply to communal areas such as stairwells and corridors. Those still need checking and maintaining by whoever is responsible for the building, and the council can act on electrical hazards there under other legislation, such as the Housing Act 2004.
- Arranging access
- The inspection is the landlord’s duty, but the home is the tenant’s. Agree a time with the tenant in advance, let us know whether you, your agent or the tenant will let us in, and keep copies of your messages about access: if a tenant does not allow entry, a landlord who can show they took all reasonable steps is not in breach of the duty.
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Interwar semis and terraces
Much of outer London was built between the wars, and a typical semi or terrace here has since gained a rear extension, a loft room or a knocked-through ground floor. Each change was a chance to add circuits, so the consumer unit may now feed rooms that did not exist when the house was first wired. If you know roughly when the extension or loft conversion was built, or have its paperwork, mention it when you enquire.
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Shops with flats above
High-street parades here often have a shop on the ground floor and one or two flats above. Some of those flats have their own supply and meter; others are fed through the shop’s installation, and the two can share a meter position or cable routes. Say which part of the building the work is in, who occupies the other parts and who can open up any shared areas.
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Parking, keys and building rules
Streets near town centres and stations are often in controlled parking zones, meter cupboards in shared hallways are often kept locked, and blocks can have rules on working hours, lifts and deliveries. Mention any of these when you first get in touch, so they are known before a visit is arranged.
Contacts
Who to contact for what
Not every problem is one for an electrician. Start with the right people.
| If you need | Contact |
|---|---|
| A power cut, or damage to the supply cable or cut-out | Call 105 Your network operator |
| A problem with the meter itself | Your energy supplier |
| Hallway or stair lights out, or a fault in the shared parts of a building | The freeholder or managing agent for the building |
| An electrical fault in your home or business, or a quote for work | Contact us DualCurrent |
| Property licensing, building control or planning | Find your local council (opens in a new tab) Your local council |
| The electrical safety rules for landlords | Read the guidance (opens in a new tab) GOV.UK guidance |
| Fire, smoke or someone injured | Call 999 Emergency services |
Often asked for in London
- Electrical compliance and safety testing Inspection, testing, reports and remedial work so you know where your installation stands.
- Fault finding and troubleshooting Tracing the cause of tripping, flickering, dead sockets and intermittent faults, so it can be put right.
- Full electrical installations Rewiring, new circuits, extra sockets and complete installations for refurbishments and new spaces.
- Commercial property maintenance Planned and reactive electrical maintenance for shops, offices and managed buildings.
Questions from London
- My flat is in a converted house. Which parts of the electrics am I responsible for?
- If you own the flat, usually the installation from your own meter onwards: the cable to your consumer unit, the consumer unit and your circuits. The supply cable and cut-out belong to the network operator, the meter to your energy supplier, and the landlord’s supply for the shared parts to whoever manages the building. Your lease sets out what is yours, so check it before arranging work on anything that runs through shared areas. If you rent the flat, the installation is your landlord’s responsibility.
- The lights in our shared hallway have stopped working. Who should I call?
- Report it to whoever manages the building: the freeholder or managing agent, or the landlord if one person owns the whole house. Hallway and stair lights normally run from the landlord’s supply rather than from any one flat. If they would like us to look at it, ask them to contact us with the address and how to get into the meter cupboard.
- I rent my home and something electrical has stopped working. Should I call you?
- Tell your landlord or letting agent first: in most tenancies the landlord is responsible for keeping the electrical installation in repair, and decides who fixes it. Keep away from anything that is sparking, hot or damaged. If there is fire or smoke, or someone has been hurt, call 999; if your neighbours have lost power too, call 105.
- Our managing agent looks after the building. Can they arrange the visit?
- Yes. The enquiry can come from the agent, the freeholder or a leaseholder. Say who is instructing and paying for the work, and who should receive the quote and the certificate or report afterwards, so the paperwork reaches the right person.
Next step
Tell us about the job
Include the postcode and a short description. We will contact you to talk it through and tell you whether and when we can help. Nothing is booked until you have a written quote and have accepted it.
Call or email us for a free quote
Tell us the postcode and a little about the job. We will contact you to discuss it, and you get a written quote before any work starts. Quotes are free. Some survey or diagnostic visits may be charged: ask when you book.
Our email address: support@dualcurrent.co.uk
Helpful to include
- The postcode of the property
- What the job is, or what is going wrong
- Photos, if you have them, taken without removing any covers