How We Turn Around Empty Property Reports in 48 Hours
Agents are right to be sceptical of a 48-hour promise. Most have been told something similar before and watched it quietly slip to a week. So rather than just assert it, this guide sets out exactly how the turnaround works operationally — and where it can go wrong.
If you are going to move your void work to a new contractor, you should understand the mechanism well enough to hold us to it.
Quick answer: The 48-hour turnaround rests on four things: void capacity held in the diary rather than fitted around larger jobs; the full scope completed in a single attendance; certification produced digitally on site instead of typed up later at an office; and live job tracking so nothing sits in an inbox waiting to be chased. The most common cause of delay is not us — it is access. Confirmed keys at the point of instruction are what makes the rest work.
The Bottleneck Is Almost Never the Inspection
An EICR on a two-bedroom void property takes about two to three hours. A three-bed takes three to four. That is genuinely all the on-site time involved.
So when a report takes seven or ten working days, virtually none of that is inspection time. It is queuing:
- Days waiting for a slot in a diary that is full of larger, more profitable work
- Days waiting for the engineer to write up paperwork in the evening or at a weekend
- Days waiting for someone in an office to check, countersign and email out the certificate
- Days lost to a second visit because something was not in scope the first time
1. Void Capacity Is Held, Not Fitted In
The structural reason most contractors are slow on void work is that they treat it as filler. A void EICR is a few hundred pounds; a rewire or a commercial contract is worth far more. So void jobs get slotted into whatever gap remains, and in a busy week there is no gap.
We run it the other way round. Capacity is held specifically for agent void instructions, and larger project work is scheduled around it rather than on top of it.
This has a real commercial cost to us — held capacity is sometimes unused capacity. We accept that because void work is relationship work. An agent who can rely on us in August is an agent who sends us the remedials, the rewires and the commercial instructions for the rest of the year.
The practical consequence for you: a Monday morning instruction gets a Tuesday slot, not a slot the following week.
Peak season
Manchester's lettings market has a brutal July-to-September peak driven by student turnover across Fallowfield, Withington, Rusholme and the city centre. This is when most contractors' turnaround triples.
We increase held void capacity through the peak rather than letting it be consumed. If you are assessing contractors, ask specifically what their turnaround was last August. It is a far more revealing question than what it is in February.
2. One Attendance, Full Scope
Second visits are a hidden killer of turnaround. If the EICR is done on Tuesday and someone then realises an EPC is also needed, that is a whole new booking — and typically another four or five days.
So we scope the full requirement at instruction and complete everything in one attendance:
- EICR — the core report
- EPC — where the property needs a new or updated certificate
- PAT testing — landlord-supplied appliances
- Smoke and CO alarm testing — the alarms required under the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations
- Remedial assessment and pricing — costed while on site, not estimated later
Minor remedials on the spot
Where an inspection turns up something small — a missing blank, a loose accessory, a damaged socket front, a non-compliant light fitting — we will fix it during the same attendance with your authorisation, rather than booking a return visit.
This converts a large number of would-be unsatisfactory reports into satisfactory ones on day two, which removes the entire remedial cycle from the void. Agents who give us standing authorisation up to an agreed value get the benefit automatically without being called each time.
3. Digital Certification From Site
This is the single biggest difference between a two-day and a seven-day turnaround.
Traditional process: the engineer records results on paper, drives back, and the certificate gets typed up whenever there is time. Then someone checks it, someone signs it, and someone emails it. Realistically that is three to five working days after attendance, and longer if the engineer is busy.
Our engineers complete certification digitally on site using tablet-based certification software connected to their test instruments. Results are recorded as the tests are performed. The certificate is generated, checked and issued from the property.
That means the report is typically available the same day as attendance — and the 48-hour commitment has a full day of buffer built into it rather than being a stretch target.
It also improves accuracy. Results transcribed from a paper sheet hours later are where transcription errors creep in. Recorded live against the circuit being tested, they are simply more reliable.
4. Live Tracking Removes the Chasing
Our jobs run through the eWorks portal, and agent clients get access.
You can see live:
- Whether the instruction has been received and booked
- The scheduled date and slot
- Whether the engineer has attended
- When the report is completed and available
Agents who move to us consistently report the time saved on chasing as the change they notice first, ahead of the turnaround itself.
5. Your Reference Travels With the Job
Small thing, large effect. Your work order or property reference is attached at instruction and comes back on the report, so certificates arrive matched to your system.
No one on your side has to work out which property a certificate belongs to, rename a file, or manually file it against a tenancy. For an agency processing thirty voids a month, this alone is hours recovered.
Where It Goes Wrong: Access
Honesty matters more than marketing here. When we miss a 48-hour target, the cause is almost always access.
The common scenarios:
Keys not actually available. The instruction says keys are at the branch; the engineer arrives and they went out with a cleaner that morning. This is the most frequent single cause of a failed visit.
Key safe code wrong or safe empty. Codes change and do not always get updated on the instruction.
Property not actually vacant. An outgoing tenant still in occupation, or belongings still in place blocking sockets and the consumer unit.
Supply disconnected or no credit. An EICR cannot be performed without a live supply. On longer voids, meters get removed or prepayment credit runs out. This catches people out more than expected.
Another trade in occupation. If a full refurbishment is mid-flow, testing an installation that is actively being altered is not meaningful — the certificate would be out of date the moment the next socket goes in.
None of these are complicated to prevent. Confirming access properly at instruction is what makes the difference, and it is why the clock starts at confirmed access rather than at instruction.
What We Ask of You
A short list:
1. Confirm access at instruction — key safe code, keys at branch for collection, or an arranged meet 2. Confirm the property is vacant and reasonably clear 3. Confirm the supply is live, particularly on voids over a month 4. Give us your reference so the report comes back matched 5. Tell us the full scope — EICR only, or EICR plus EPC, PAT, alarms 6. Consider standing authorisation for minor remedials up to an agreed value
Get those right and the 48 hours is straightforward. Miss the access one and everything else is academic.
Frequently Asked Questions
How is a 48-hour turnaround actually possible?
Four things: void capacity held in the diary rather than fitted around larger work; the full scope completed in one attendance; digital certification produced on site rather than typed up later; and live job tracking so nothing waits in an inbox. The inspection itself only takes two to four hours — the delay in a slow turnaround is queuing and administration, both of which can be engineered out.
Does working faster mean a less thorough inspection?
No. The inspection follows BS 7671 and takes the time it takes — two to four hours depending on property size and circuit count. What is compressed is the waiting: the queue before attendance and the administrative delay afterwards. On-site digital certification also tends to be more accurate than paper results transcribed hours later.
What is the most common cause of delay?
Access. Keys that have gone out with a cleaner, an out-of-date key safe code, a property that is not actually vacant, or a disconnected supply. This is why our clock starts at confirmed access rather than at instruction — and why confirming access properly at the point of instruction is the single most useful thing an agent can do.
Can you do an EICR if the electricity is switched off?
No. An EICR requires a live supply to perform the live tests — earth fault loop impedance, RCD operation and polarity verification. If the supply has been disconnected or a prepayment meter has no credit, tell us at instruction so we can advise. This is a common issue on voids lasting more than a month.
Do you fix minor faults during the inspection?
Yes, with your authorisation. Small items — missing blanks, loose accessories, damaged socket fronts — can usually be corrected during the same attendance, which turns what would have been an unsatisfactory report into a satisfactory one without a return visit. Agents commonly give standing authorisation up to an agreed value so we can proceed without calling each time.
Does your turnaround hold up in August?
Yes — we increase held void capacity through the July-to-September peak rather than allowing it to be absorbed by other work. This is the right question to ask any contractor, because turnaround in February tells you very little about turnaround during student turnover.
How do we know the job is progressing without ringing?
Through the eWorks portal, where you can see live whether a job is booked, scheduled, attended or complete. Agents who prefer email get booking and completion confirmations as standard.
Try It on One Property
The simplest way to assess this is to send us a single void and time it yourself, start to finish.
Call 0161 706 1360 Email: hello@manchestercompliance.co.uk
Agent accounts can be set up the same day, including portal access and schedule-of-rates pricing.