EICR for landlords: electrical safety certificate rules

What is an EICR?

An EICR, or Electrical Installation Condition Report, is the report a qualified person writes after inspecting and testing the fixed electrical installation in a property. It is what people mean by a landlord electrical safety certificate. In England the electrical safety standards regulations require landlords to have the installation inspected and tested at least every five years.

The regulations ask for three things: that the electrical safety standards are met during any period when the property is let, that the installation is inspected and tested by a qualified person at least every five years, and that you obtain a report giving the results and the date of the next inspection and supply a copy to the tenant. For a new letting, the first inspection must be done before the tenancy begins.

It is a report with findings, not a pass slip. It gives the results of the inspection and the date by which the next one is required. Use the interval in the report where it is shorter than five years.

Sources: GOV.UK: electrical safety standards in the private and social rented sectors, guidance · Legislation: Electrical Safety Standards Regulations 2020, regulation 3

What is checked for a landlord electrical safety certificate?

The inspection covers the ‘fixed’ electrical parts of the property: the wiring, the socket-outlets (plug sockets), the light fittings and the consumer unit, sometimes called the fuse box. It includes permanently connected equipment such as showers and extractors.

GOV.UK says the inspection will find out whether any electrical installations are overloaded, whether there are potential electric shock risks and fire hazards, whether there is any defective electrical work, and whether there is a lack of earthing or bonding.

The inspection is of the installation, not of plug-in appliances. GOV.UK says tenants are responsible for making sure their own electrical equipment is safe. Each finding on the report carries one of four codes.

Sources: GOV.UK: electrical safety standards in the private and social rented sectors, guidance

Who needs a copy of the EICR, and when?

Existing tenants must receive the report within 28 days of the inspection, and a new tenant before they occupy the property. Two other deadlines only start when someone asks: 28 days for a prospective tenant and 7 days for the local council.

Keep a copy until the next inspection is due and give it to the person who carries out that inspection. For a new tenancy, the written statement of terms must also set out your electrical safety duties.

Sources: GOV.UK: electrical safety standards in the private and social rented sectors, guidance · Legislation: Electrical Safety Standards Regulations 2020, regulation 3

What happens if the EICR finds a problem?

Where the report requires remedial work or further investigation, you must have it completed within 28 days, or within any shorter period the report specifies. You must then get written confirmation from the qualified person who did the work and supply it, with the report, to each tenant and to the local council within 28 days of the work being completed.

Create a follow-up task with its own due date. Do not wait for the next routine inspection to deal with a finding that needs action now, and keep the confirmation linked to the original report.

C3 findings are recommendations. The guidance treats them as improvements and not as required work, though dealing with them while the electrician is on site can save a second visit.

Sources: GOV.UK: electrical safety standards in the private and social rented sectors, guidance · Legislation: Electrical Safety Standards Regulations 2020, regulation 3

Which tenancies need an EICR?

Most private tenancies in England do, including houses in multiple occupation, where people from more than one household share facilities. Since the 2025 amendments the regulations also extend to social housing. Our HMO licence guide covers the other rules for shared houses.

GOV.UK lists the exclusions: accommodation shared with the landlord or the landlord’s family, long leases and tenancies granting a right of occupation of seven years or more, student halls of residence, hostels and refuges, care homes, hospitals and hospices, other accommodation relating to healthcare, and mobile homes, caravans and boats.

You do not need a fresh EICR for every new tenancy. If the last inspection was less than five years ago and the report does not require further investigative or remedial work, give the new tenant a copy of the most recent report. A property with an Electrical Installation Certificate, such as a new build, does not need a further check for five years after the certificate was issued.

Sources: GOV.UK: electrical safety standards in the private and social rented sectors, guidance

What is the fine for not having an EICR?

A local council can impose a financial penalty of up to £40,000 on a landlord who is in breach of the regulations. That limit was set by amending regulations in 2025 (SI 2025/1043), so articles that quote a lower maximum are out of date. The council decides the amount in each case.

Councils can also act on the property. Where required work has not been done, the council can serve a remedial notice, and you have 21 days to make written representations against it. If the work is still not done, the council may arrange it with the tenant’s consent. Appeals go to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).

If a tenant prevents access, GOV.UK says a landlord is not in breach solely because they have not brought legal proceedings to secure entry. Keep a record of every attempt to arrange the visit and every reply.

Sources: GOV.UK: electrical safety standards in the private and social rented sectors, guidance · Legislation: Electrical Safety Standards Regulations 2020, regulation 11 (penalties) · Legislation: 2025 amending regulations, SI 2025/1043

Who can carry out an EICR?

The regulations require a ‘qualified person’, meaning a person competent to undertake the inspection and testing. GOV.UK points landlords to the Registered Competent Person Electrical register and to Electrical Safety First’s find-an-electrician service.

The person who inspects does not have to be the person who does the repairs. Whoever does the remedial work must also be qualified, and their written confirmation is the document you send on to the tenant and the council.

Ask what the price includes and whether remedial work is quoted separately. Our guide to EICR certificate costs covers typical prices and what affects them.

Sources: GOV.UK: electrical safety standards in the private and social rented sectors, guidance

Common EICR mistakes

The most common mistake is filing the report without reading it. A report with C1, C2 or FI findings starts a 28-day clock, whatever the file is called. A file labelled ‘EICR’ does not show that the installation was satisfactory or that required work was completed.

The others are assuming five years when the report gives a shorter date, giving the report to a new tenant after they have moved in, forgetting the written confirmation after repairs, and losing the old report that the next inspector should see. Electrics are one of several safety records: see the gas safety certificate rules and the smoke and carbon monoxide alarm rules.

A simple order of work avoids most of this. Book the inspection before the old report runs out, read the result the day it arrives, send the tenant copy within 28 days, book any remedial work straight away, and file the written confirmation with the report.

Sources: GOV.UK: electrical safety standards in the private and social rented sectors, guidance

A record that makes the next step clear

Keep one inspection record with linked follow-up evidence. A useful folder separates the original findings from the documents showing what happened afterwards. Our landlord certificates checklist lists the other documents to keep beside it.

• Property address, inspection date and the person who carried out the work.
• The full report, including the result and the date the next inspection is due.
• Any further investigation or remedial action, with its own 28-day due date.
• Written confirmation of completed work, linked to the original findings.
• Dates and evidence of copies provided to each tenant and to the council where required.
• A reminder for the next inspection based on the report, not an assumed five-year interval.

Common questions