Electrical safety reports (EICR): the five-yearly check for rented homes
Landlords in England must have a rented home's electrical installations inspected and tested by a qualified person at least every five years, unless the letting is one of the exceptions below. The check is only half of it: the report starts its own deadlines for copies and repairs, and those are what this guide covers.
Which lettings the rules cover
The rules apply where your tenant has the right to live in the home as their only or main residence and pays rent, whether or not it is a market rent. A licence to occupy counts as a tenancy here. They cover houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) too.
The shared parts of a block, such as stairwells and corridors, are outside these rules, though the council can still act on unsafe communal wiring under other law.
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The lettings left out
The exceptions are tenancies where the occupier shares a toilet, washing facilities, kitchen or living room with you or your family; long leases, and tenancies of 7 years or more that neither side can end earlier; student halls; hostels and refuges; care homes, hospitals and hospices, and other accommodation an NHS body must provide; and moveable structures, vehicles and vessels, such as mobile homes, caravans and boats.
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How often: every five years, or sooner
The installation must be inspected and tested at intervals of no more than five years, or by an earlier date if the last report sets one. It must also have been inspected and tested before a tenancy starts.
A new tenancy: the government's reading
The government's guidance says the check before a tenancy starts doesn't mean a new test for every new tenant: if the last one was under five years ago and its report asks for no further work, a new test isn't required, and you give the new tenant a copy of that report. It recommends at least a visual inspection before each new tenancy.
A new or completely rewired home should have an Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC). You then don't need further checks or a report for five years after it was issued, as long as you have met your other duties under the regulations.
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What the inspection covers
It covers the fixed electrics: the wiring, sockets, light fittings and the consumer unit (the fuse box), plus permanently connected equipment such as showers and extractors. The standard is British Standard 7671, the 18th edition of the Wiring Regulations. The person doing it must be competent to inspect and test to that standard.
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Reading the report: C1, C2, C3 and FI
You must get a report, usually an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR), from the person who does the inspection, giving the results and the date the next one is due. C1 means danger present, C2 potentially dangerous, and FI further investigation needed without delay. Any C1 or C2 means remedial work is required, and the report will say the installation is unsatisfactory for continued use; an FI must be investigated too. C3 is a recommended improvement only.
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Who gets a copy, and when
Keep each report until the next inspection is due, or until it is done if that is later, unless a newer report replaces it. Give a copy to the person who does the next inspection, too.
| Who | When |
|---|---|
| Each existing tenant | Within 28 days of the inspection |
| A new tenant | Before they move in |
| A prospective tenant who asks in writing | Within 28 days of the request |
| The council, if it asks in writing | Within 7 days of the request |
If the report finds work to do
Where the report requires remedial or further investigative work, you must make sure a qualified person does it within 28 days of the inspection, or sooner if the report says so. Within 28 days of finishing, give the tenant and the council the qualified person's written confirmation that the work is done, with a copy of the report. If an investigation turns up more work, the same steps repeat.
The confirmation, and work that takes longer
A satisfactory new EICR, an EIC, a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate or other appropriate electrical certification all count as that confirmation.
If the work genuinely can't be done in 28 days, for example because it depends on the energy supplier, you're not in breach if you can show you took all reasonable steps, so keep a record of every arrangement.
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When a tenant won't let you in
You're not in breach of the inspection and repair duties if you can show you took all reasonable steps, and not going to court to get in doesn't, on its own, count against you. Keep copies of every message about arranging access, and other evidence that the electrics are in good condition, such as the servicing record and earlier reports.
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What it costs to miss
Where the council has reasonable grounds to believe you have broken the inspection or remedial-work duties, and the report doesn't call for urgent action, it must serve a remedial notice, which gives you 28 days to act; you have 21 days to make written representations against it. If you don't comply, the council can, with the tenant's consent, arrange the work itself and recover its reasonable costs from you. You can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal against that decision. Where the report calls for urgent work that hasn't been done in time, the council can arrange it with the tenant's consent, after giving the tenant at least 48 hours' notice.
The council can also impose a financial penalty of up to £40,000, and more than one for a continuing failure. Appeals go to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).
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If the home has a licence
If the home has an HMO or selective licence, the licence must also require the electrics to be kept safe, and a declaration about their safety to the council whenever it asks.
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What Datestone does for you
Add the date your electrical safety report says the next one is due (or the date it was done, and the checklist adds five years), and the checklist shows when it runs out, with the rule's official source linked. From 30 days before the next one is due it shows as due soon; Monday's morning email counts it and names the soonest, and on the morning it runs out, that day's email says so.