Failed EICR? What Landlords Must Do in the 28 Days After the Report

Under regulation 3(4) of the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 (titled the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 until November 2025), a landlord whose EICR requires remedial or investigative work must have it done by a qualified person within 28 days of the inspection, or sooner if the report says so. Written confirmation must then reach the tenants and the council within 28 days of completion.

This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Landlords should seek independent legal advice for their specific circumstances. It describes the position in England.

What makes an EICR unsatisfactory?

GOV.UK guidance states that where a C1 or C2 code is recorded, the report will state the installation is unsatisfactory for continued use. Some industry guidance also treats an FI code as making a report unsatisfactory; either way, an FI item must be investigated. The guidance sets out four classification codes, and only some of them create a legal duty to act.

EICR, meaning an Electrical Installation Condition Report, is the usual form of the "report" that regulation 3(3)(a) requires a landlord to obtain after each inspection. The regulations themselves do not use the code labels; the duty under regulation 3(4) is triggered wherever the report indicates the landlord is, or may be, in breach of the electrical safety standards and requires further investigative or remedial work.

How the codes, inspection intervals and exclusions work in general is covered in our EICR guide for landlords. This article deals only with what happens after a report comes back unsatisfactory.

When does the 28 day clock start?

The 28 days start with the date of the inspection and testing, under regulation 3(4). They do not start when the electrician emails the report, and they do not pause while the landlord obtains quotes. If the report specifies a shorter period, the shorter period applies.

Worked example. An inspection takes place on Monday 2 November 2026. Counting the inspection day as day one, the 28 day period ends on Sunday 29 November 2026. If the report gives 14 days for a C1 item, that item must be dealt with by Sunday 15 November 2026.

Two other deadlines run alongside the remedial deadline:

The duty to send confirmation to the council under regulation 3(5)(c) applies whether or not the council has asked for it. Landlords who only send the satisfactory follow-up certificate to the tenant have done half of what the regulation requires.

What counts as written confirmation that the work is done?

Regulation 3(5)(a) requires written confirmation from a qualified person that the work has been carried out and that either the electrical safety standards are now met or further work is needed. GOV.UK guidance lists acceptable forms as a satisfactory EICR, an Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC), a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate (MEIWC) or other appropriate electrical certification.

The confirmation is sent together with a copy of the original report that required the work, under regulation 3(5)(b) and (c). Sending the new certificate on its own does not meet the wording of the regulation.

Qualified person, meaning under regulation 3(8) a person competent to undertake the inspection and testing and any further investigative or remedial work in accordance with the electrical safety standards. The regulations do not require the same electrician who carried out the inspection to do the remedial work.

What if the further investigation finds more problems?

Regulation 3(6) requires the landlord to repeat the steps in regulation 3(4) and (5) for any new work identified. An FI item that turns into a C2 after investigation therefore starts a fresh cycle: work by a qualified person within 28 days, then written confirmation to tenants and council within 28 days of completion.

The wording of regulation 3(6) does not say expressly when the new 28 days start, because it repeats regulation 3(4), which counts from the date of the inspection and testing. The cautious approach is to plan around the earliest date that could apply, to treat the period as running from the further investigation at the latest, and to arrange any work it identifies straight away, recording the dates.

What if the work cannot be finished within 28 days?

A landlord is not in breach of the remedial duty if they can show they took all reasonable steps to comply. This defence was added by the 2025 amending regulations (SI 2025/1043) as regulation 3(2A) and (2B), and regulation 3(6A) applies it to the remedial duties. For private landlords it has applied since 1 November 2025.

GOV.UK guidance gives examples of legitimate delays:

• the remedial work is complex or specialist in nature
• the work depends on a third party, such as an energy supplier fitting an isolator before a consumer unit can be replaced
• the tenant's circumstances require additional planning or reasonable adjustments before the work can be carried out safely

The defence depends on evidence. The guidance says landlords should keep clear records of all communication and arrangements relating to the work. Whether a particular delay counts as reasonable will depend on the facts, and the council, or the First-tier Tribunal on appeal, decides that.

What if the tenant refuses access?

Regulation 3(2B) provides that where a tenant prevents entry, a landlord is not treated as failing to take all reasonable steps solely because they did not bring legal proceedings to secure entry. That is a narrow protection. It removes the need to go to court, but it does not remove the need to show genuine, repeated attempts to arrange access.

GOV.UK guidance suggests keeping copies of all communications with the tenant about access, together with evidence that the installation is in good condition, such as servicing records and previous safety reports. Section 11(6) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 gives a right to enter on 24 hours' written notice to view the condition and state of repair; it does not by itself give a right to enter to carry out the work, so access for remedial work usually depends on the tenancy terms and agreeing a reasonable time with the tenant. The general access rules are set out in our article on access for repairs when a tenant refuses entry. Each access request is only useful as evidence if the landlord can later show it was sent and when, which is why proof of service matters here as much as it does for notices.

What can the council do if the work is not done?

The council's powers escalate in stages under Parts 3 to 5 of the regulations.

The council must be satisfied beyond reasonable doubt before imposing a financial penalty, under regulation 11(1). The maximum rose from £30,000 to £40,000 under regulation 10 of SI 2025/1043, in force for private landlords from 1 November 2025. The amount within that maximum is for the council to decide on the facts, and landlords can make representations and then appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber). The wider penalty landscape is set out in our civil penalties table.

What should a landlord do the day an unsatisfactory EICR arrives?

1. Note the inspection date and work out the 28 day deadline, plus any shorter deadline the report gives for individual items.
2. Send each existing tenant a copy of the report, and record how and when it was sent.
3. Instruct a qualified person for every C1, C2 and FI item. Ask for the completion certificate type (EIC or MEIWC) to be confirmed in advance.
4. Arrange access in writing, giving proper notice, and keep every message.
5. If the work cannot be finished in time, record why, what has been booked, and every step taken.
6. Within 28 days of completion, send the written confirmation and the original report to each tenant and to the council.
7. Diary the next inspection date shown on the report. Our EICR due date calculator works it out.

How LLCR fits into this

The 28 day duties are a sequence of dated events: inspection, report to tenant, remedial work, confirmation to tenant, confirmation to council. The LLCR platform is designed to hold each of those against the property. Certificate tracking records the EICR and its next due date, the proof of service log records what was sent, to whom and when, and the contractor finder can help locate an electrician by postcode. If a council asks for evidence, the record of what happened and when is already in one place.

Not sure whether every property's electrical paperwork is complete? The free LLCR compliance checker takes a few minutes, and our guide to EICR expiry dates explains when the next inspection falls due.