An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) is a formal inspection of the fixed electrical installation in a rental property — the wiring, consumer unit, sockets, light fittings and other fixed electrical components. Since 2020, private landlords in England have been legally required to have this inspection carried out at least every five years and to provide a copy of the report to their tenants. Failing to comply exposes a landlord to financial penalties of up to £30,000. This article sets out exactly what the law requires, what happens when a landlord misses the renewal deadline, and what the remedial work rules mean in practice.
What law requires an EICR?
The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 impose duties on private landlords of residential premises in England. The Regulations require every fixed electrical installation to be inspected and tested at least every five years by a qualified person. (Source: Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, Regulation 3(1).)
The Regulations applied to new tenancies from 1 July 2020 and to all existing tenancies from 1 April 2021. (Source: How to Rent guide, DLUHC, October 2023.)
The Regulations do not apply to social housing landlords. They apply to private landlords only.
What must a landlord do under the Regulations?
A private landlord must ensure that the electrical safety standards are met during any period when the property is occupied under a tenancy, and that every fixed electrical installation is inspected and tested at least every five years by a qualified person. (Source: Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, Regulation 3(1).)
The landlord must obtain a report giving the results of the inspection and test. This report must be supplied to each existing tenant within 28 days of the inspection date. A copy must also be supplied to any new tenant before they occupy the property. If a prospective tenant requests a copy, it must be provided within 28 days of that request. If the local housing authority requests a copy, it must be provided within 7 days. (Source: Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, Regulation 3(3).)
The landlord must retain a copy of the report until the next inspection is due.
What happens if the EICR identifies remedial work?
Where the report requires the landlord to carry out further investigative or remedial work, that work must be completed within 28 days of the inspection date, or within a shorter period if the report specifies one. Once the work is done, the landlord must obtain written confirmation that it has been completed and supply that confirmation to the tenant and to the local housing authority. (Source: Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, Regulation 3(4) and 3(5).)
The 28-day deadline for remedial work is a hard deadline, not a target. A landlord who receives an EICR requiring remedial action and does not complete that work within 28 days is in breach of the Regulations from day 29.
What happens if a landlord does not comply?
Where a local housing authority has reasonable grounds to believe that a landlord is in breach of their duties under the Regulations, it must serve a remedial notice on the landlord. The landlord must then take the remedial action specified in the notice. (Source: Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, Regulations 4 and 5.)
If the landlord does not comply with the remedial notice, the local housing authority has the power to arrange for the remedial action to be carried out itself and to recover the costs from the landlord. (Source: Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, Regulations 6 and 8.)
What are the financial penalties?
A local housing authority may impose a financial penalty on a landlord who is in breach of the Regulations. The maximum financial penalty is £30,000 per breach. (Source: Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, Schedule — financial penalties.)
Each of the following is a separate potential breach carrying its own penalty: failing to have the inspection carried out within five years; failing to supply the report to a tenant within 28 days; failing to supply the report to the local housing authority within 7 days of a request; and failing to complete required remedial work within 28 days. A landlord who misses several of these obligations simultaneously could face multiple penalties.
The local housing authority may apply the proceeds of financial penalties to meet its costs of carrying out enforcement functions in the private rented sector. (Source: Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, Schedule, paragraph 7.)
Can a landlord appeal a penalty?
A landlord who receives a remedial notice may appeal to the First-tier Tribunal on the grounds that all reasonable steps had been taken to comply, or that reasonable progress had been made towards compliance, at the time the authority gave notice of its intention to take remedial action. An appeal must be made within 28 days of the notice being served. (Source: Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, Regulation 7.)
A landlord may also appeal a demand for the recovery of costs within 21 days of that demand being served. (Source: Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, Regulation 9.)
Who can carry out an EICR?
The inspection and test must be carried out by a qualified person. The Regulations require the inspector to be competent to carry out the inspection and testing, and to determine whether the electrical installation is in a satisfactory condition. In practice, this means a registered electrician who is accredited to carry out periodic inspection and testing — typically a member of a competent person scheme such as NICEIC, NAPIT or the Electrical Contractors Association.
What does a satisfactory EICR look like?
An EICR will classify the installation as either satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Where the installation is unsatisfactory, the report will contain coded observations: C1 (danger present, requiring immediate action), C2 (potentially dangerous, requiring urgent remedial action), or C3 (improvement recommended). A C1 or C2 observation means the report is unsatisfactory and remedial work is required within 28 days. A C3 observation does not require remedial action under the Regulations but is a recommendation the landlord should consider.
What this means for landlords
The five-year renewal deadline is absolute. There is no grace period and no provision for a landlord to argue that the installation appeared to be working correctly. If the EICR has expired, the landlord is in breach of the Regulations for every day the property is let without a valid report.
Supplying the report to tenants is a separate legal duty from obtaining it. A landlord who has a valid EICR but has not given a copy to their tenant within 28 days of the inspection is also in breach.
Where the EICR identifies C1 or C2 observations, the 28-day remedial work deadline applies from the date of the inspection, not from the date the landlord reads the report. Landlords who do not act promptly on EICR findings risk breaching the remedial work deadline as well as the inspection duty.
Keeping a dated copy of every EICR and the written confirmation of any remedial work is the minimum record a landlord should hold for each property.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.