EICR for landlords: electrical safety rules explained

The inspection covers the fixed electrical parts of the property — wiring, socket-outlets, light fittings and the consumer unit (the "fuse box") — including permanently connected equipment such as showers and extractor fans, and the circuits provided for things like solar PV and battery storage. GOV.UK describes what the inspection looks for: overloaded installations, potential shock and fire risks, defective electrical work, and any lack of earthing or bonding.

The standard being tested against is BS 7671, the 18th edition of the Wiring Regulations. A report is usually called an EICR; on a brand new or fully rewired property you will normally have an Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) instead.

The electrician records observations against codes. You do not need to understand the engineering, but you do need to know which codes force you to act:

• C1 — danger present, risk of injury. The inspector may make a C1 hazard safe before leaving.
• C2 — potentially dangerous.
• C3 — improvement recommended. Remedial work is not required for the report to be satisfactory, though acting on it improves safety.
• FI — further investigation required without delay.

GOV.UK is explicit that if C1 or C2 codes are identified, remedial work is required and the report will state that the installation is unsatisfactory for continued use. An FI means you must have the further investigative work carried out. A C3 on its own does not make a report unsatisfactory. The Scottish statutory guidance takes the same approach to the codes, and Rent Smart Wales gives the same reading for Welsh reports.

The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 apply in England. They were amended in 2025 to extend to the social rented sector; if you are a private landlord the duties below are the ones that concern you.

What you must do

• Ensure electrical safety standards (BS 7671) are met, and that the installation is inspected and tested by a qualified person at least every 5 years.
• Obtain a report giving the results and setting a date for the next inspection and test.
• Give a copy to the existing tenant within 28 days of the inspection and test.
• Give a copy to a new tenant before they occupy the property.
• Give a copy to a prospective tenant within 28 days of a request.
• Give a copy to the local council within 7 days of a request.
• Retain a copy until the next inspection and test is required or (if later) conducted, and give it to whoever carries out the next inspection.
• Where the report says remedial or further investigative work is necessary, complete it within 28 days — or sooner if the report specifies a shorter period.
• Within 28 days of completing that work, supply the tenant and the local council with the report and written confirmation from the qualified person who did the work.

GOV.UK says acceptable written confirmation includes a satisfactory EICR, an Electrical Installation Certificate, a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate or other appropriate electrical certification.

Which tenancies are covered

The regulations apply where the tenant has a right to occupy as their only or main residence and pays rent; licences to occupy are included. Schedule 1 excludes, among others, accommodation shared with the landlord or their family, long leases or tenancies granting occupation of 7 years or more, student halls of residence, hostels and refuges, care homes, hospitals and hospices, and mobile homes, caravans and boats.

Enforcement

Where a council has reasonable grounds to believe a landlord is in breach, it must serve a remedial notice; if the landlord does not comply the council may arrange the work and recover its costs. Where the report shows urgent remedial action is needed and the landlord has not carried it out, the council may (with the tenant's consent, and on at least 48 hours' notice) arrange the work itself. Councils may impose a financial penalty of up to £40,000 for a breach of specified duties. Landlords can make representations and appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).

Access, and work that overruns

A landlord is not in breach of certain duties if they can show they took all reasonable steps, and being prevented from entering by the tenant does not put you in breach simply because you did not bring legal proceedings to secure entry. GOV.UK suggests keeping copies of all communications about arranging access. The same "all reasonable steps" principle applies where remedial work genuinely cannot be finished inside 28 days, for example because it is specialist or depends on the energy supplier — keep clear records.

In Wales the requirement sits inside the fitness for human habitation regime under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and the Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022. Do not apply England's deadlines here. Your tenant is a contract-holder under an occupation contract.

• The landlord must ensure there is a valid electrical condition report for the dwelling during each period of occupation.
• The report is valid for 5 years from the inspection date — or until the earlier date by which the report itself says the next inspection should be carried out.
• The contract-holder must be given a copy of the most recent report within 14 days of the occupation date, along with written confirmation of any investigatory or remedial work carried out after that inspection but before the occupation date.
• Where an inspection happens after the occupation date, the contract-holder must be given the report within 14 days of the inspection being completed.
• Where investigatory or remedial work is carried out after the occupation date, the contract-holder must be given written confirmation of the work within 14 days of the landlord receiving it.

The consequence of getting this wrong is distinctive: the dwelling is treated as unfit for human habitation for any period during which the landlord is not complying with the electrical safety requirement. Compliance is treated as restored once the valid report, or the confirmation of work, is obtained or given.

Rent Smart Wales advises landlords to check the report carefully: whether the address matches, whether the installation is recorded as satisfactory, whether any C1, C2 or FI items are listed, and whether the report is valid for five years or a shorter period. Wording such as "5 years or on change of tenancy" should be queried with the electrician so you know when a further inspection is actually due. Rent Smart Wales also states that for a newly built dwelling an Electrical Installation Certificate can be used in place of an EICR.

Scotland does not use the English 2020 Regulations. Electrical safety forms part of the Repairing Standard under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, with a specific duty to ensure regular electrical safety inspections inserted by the Housing (Scotland) Act 2014, and Scottish Government statutory guidance setting out what landlords should do.

• The electrical safety inspection has two parts: periodic inspection and testing of the installation (recorded in an EICR) and in-service inspection and testing of electrical equipment the landlord provides, commonly called PAT testing.
• It must be carried out by a skilled person competent in such work before the property is let for the first time, and then at intervals of no more than five years.
• It does not have to be repeated immediately before every new tenancy, as long as it was carried out in the five years before that tenancy starts.
• A new tenant must be given a copy of the most recent inspection record before the tenancy begins, and tenants must be given a copy of any inspection carried out during the tenancy.
• C1 and C2 observations must be rectified to comply with the Repairing Standard; FI items should be investigated as soon as practically possible; C3 is a recommended improvement that landlords should consider addressing.
• The absence of an RCD with a rated residual operating current not exceeding 30 mA in the main or principal consumer unit means the house does not comply with the Repairing Standard.
• Where a landlord holds an Electrical Installation Certificate instead — for example on a new build or a full rewire — it can be provided as an alternative to an EICR, provided the next inspection date has not lapsed and the EIC was issued no more than five years ago.
• Tenants cannot be required to pay towards the cost of an electrical safety inspection unless the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland orders it.

The guidance also recognises access problems: if a landlord cannot inspect because they do not have the right of access, they are not in breach provided they took reasonable steps to acquire that right.

Northern Ireland has its own rules: the Electrical Safety Standards for Private Tenancies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024, made under the Private Tenancies (Northern Ireland) Order 2006. The Department for Communities confirms they became operational on 1 April 2025 for new private tenancies granted on or after that date, with existing tenancies having until 1 December 2025 to comply. HMOs continue to be covered by the HMO licensing scheme.

• Every electrical installation must be inspected and tested by a qualified person at intervals of no more than 5 years — or at shorter intervals where the most recent report requires it.
• The first inspection and testing must be carried out before the tenancy commences for a new private tenancy, or by 1 December 2025 for a tenancy that already existed.
• The report must be given to each existing tenant within 28 days of the inspection and test, to the council within 7 days of a written request, to a new tenant before they occupy, and to a prospective tenant within 28 days of a written request.
• A copy must be retained until the next inspection and test is due, and supplied to the person carrying it out.
• Where the report requires further investigative or remedial work, it must be carried out by a qualified person within 28 days of the inspection — or sooner if the report specifies a shorter period.
• Written confirmation from the qualified person, with the report, must go to each existing tenant and the council within 28 days of the work being completed; if the investigation identifies further work, the cycle repeats.

Enforcement sits with district councils, which can serve remedial notices, arrange remedial action (including urgent action), recover their costs, and pursue offences of non-compliance.

Does "every five years" mean my report always lasts five years?

No. Five years is a maximum, not a guarantee. In England the duty is to inspect and test at least every 5 years and the report sets the date for the next one. In Wales the report is valid for five years from the inspection date, or until the earlier date the report specifies. In Northern Ireland the interval is no more than five years, or shorter where the most recent report requires it. In Scotland the guidance is an inspection at intervals of no more than five years. Always diarise the date on the report, not five years from the date you happened to file it.

Do I need a new EICR every time a tenant changes?

In England, no: if the installation was inspected and tested less than 5 years ago and the report does not require further investigative or remedial work, you do not need a new inspection before re-letting — but you must give the new tenant a copy of the most recent report. GOV.UK recommends at least a visual check before a new tenancy. The Scottish guidance likewise says the inspection need not be repeated at every change of tenancy provided one was carried out in the preceding five years.

Does an EICR cover the appliances I supply?

Not as a rule. An EICR is about the fixed installation. In Scotland, landlord-provided equipment is separately covered by in-service inspection and testing (PAT testing) as part of the electrical safety inspection. Under the England regulations the duty to have landlord-provided electrical equipment checked at least every 5 years applies to social landlords, in addition to the installation duties that apply to all landlords.

What about a new build or a full rewire?

GOV.UK says that where premises are newly built or have been completely rewired, they should have an Electrical Installation Certificate, a copy of which can be given to tenants and, on request, the local council; the landlord is then not required to carry out further checks or provide a report for 5 years after the EIC was issued, provided they have complied with their duties. The Scottish guidance allows an EIC as an alternative to an EICR on similar terms, and Rent Smart Wales says an EIC can be used in place of an EICR for a newly built dwelling.

What records should I keep?

Keep the report itself until at least the next inspection, the written confirmation of any remedial or investigative work, evidence of when and how you gave the tenant their copy, and a note of any access difficulties and what you did about them. If a council asks for the report in England or Northern Ireland, you have 7 days to produce it, which is not long if the paperwork is in someone else's email account.

Gas is a separate regime with a separate cycle — if you also have gas appliances, see our guide to the landlord gas safety certificate (CP12).

• Record the next inspection date printed on the report, not an assumed five-year anniversary.
• Read the observations before you file the report: C1, C2 and FI need action, C3 does not make the report unsatisfactory.
• Book remedial work immediately where the report is unsatisfactory — England and Northern Ireland both work to 28 days, or sooner if the report says so.
• Keep the completion certificate or written confirmation with the report, and send it on where your nation requires it.
• Note the date you gave the tenant their copy, and keep the covering email.
• Check which nation's rules apply to each property if your portfolio crosses a border.

Electrical safety is one item among many — our UK landlord compliance checklist sets out the other areas to keep on top of.

MyRentals360 is property management software for UK landlords. For electrical safety, it gives you somewhere to record the EICR against the relevant property with its next-due or expiry date, upload the report itself to private document storage, and see approaching and expired compliance warnings across all your properties at once.

It is a record-keeping and reminder tool. MyRentals360 does not carry out electrical inspections, does not issue EICRs, does not make a landlord compliant and does not provide legal advice. The duties above remain yours, and the inspection must be carried out by a qualified, competent person.

• GOV.UK — Electrical safety standards in the private and social rented sectors: guidance for landlords, tenants and local authorities
• legislation.gov.uk — The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020
• legislation.gov.uk — The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) (Amendment) Regulations 2025
• legislation.gov.uk — Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022, regulation 6 (electrical safety)
• Rent Smart Wales — Understanding Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) codes
• Scottish Government — Repairing standard: statutory guidance for private landlords
• legislation.gov.uk — Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, section 19B (duty to ensure regular electrical safety inspections)
• legislation.gov.uk — The Electrical Safety Standards for Private Tenancies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024
• Department for Communities (Northern Ireland) — Electrical Safety Standards for Private Tenancies Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2024