Landlord EICR Reports: What the Law Wants in 2026
If you let property in England, you need a valid landlord EICR report for every rental property you own. The electrical installation must be inspected and tested by a qualified person at least every five years, and the report has to go to your tenants, and to the council within seven days if they ask for it.
There is no version of this that you can do yourself, and no version where a certificate from the last owner covers you indefinitely.
Most landlords know the rule exists. Fewer know what the inspection actually involves, what makes a report fail, or what the remedial bill tends to look like. This is the plain version.
What is a landlord EICR report?
An Electrical Installation Condition Report is a formal assessment of the fixed electrical installation in a property: the consumer unit, the wiring, the sockets, the switches and the light fittings. It is not a check of your appliances.
The electrician tests the installation against BS 7671, the wiring regulations, and issues a written report with an overall verdict of satisfactory or unsatisfactory, plus a coded observation for every issue found.
Landlord EICR reports are the evidence of compliance. The inspection without the report does nothing for you legally.
Are EICR reports a legal requirement for landlords?
Yes. The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 apply to every privately rented residential property in England. They came in for new tenancies from 1 July 2020 and for all existing tenancies from 1 April 2021, so there is no phase-in left to wait for.
In practice the duty comes down to six things:
An inspection and test at least every five years, or more often if the report specifies a shorter interval
A qualified and competent person doing it, which in practice means someone registered with a scheme such as NAPIT or NICEIC
A copy of the report to existing tenants within 28 days of the inspection
A copy to a new tenant before they move in
A copy to the local authority within seven days of a request
Remedial work completed within 28 days of the report, or sooner if the report demands it, with written confirmation to the tenant
The five year interval is a maximum, not a target. Where an inspector specifies a shorter one, that shorter date becomes your deadline.
What happens if you do not have a valid EICR report
Local authorities can require remedial work and impose financial penalties of up to £30,000 per breach. That figure is not theoretical, and councils have been enforcing since 2020.
Two things changed the stakes in 2026. Section 21 no-fault possession was abolished on 1 May 2026 under the Renters' Rights Act 2025, so possession now runs through Section 8 and its evidenced grounds, and a compliance record full of holes is a poor position to be arguing from. Financial penalties can also open the door to rent repayment orders.
Beyond enforcement, an unsatisfactory installation is exactly the sort of thing that gets picked over after an incident, by an insurer and by anyone else who takes an interest.
What happens during a landlord EICR inspection
An EICR is not a visual walk round. Expect the power to be off in stages for a few hours.
The electrician inspects the consumer unit, samples the circuits, and tests them: continuity, insulation resistance, earth fault loop impedance, RCD trip times, polarity. They lift a proportion of accessories to look at the terminations behind them. On a typical two or three bedroom property, allow three to four hours.
Two things make the day go badly. Blocked access to the consumer unit or to sockets behind furniture, and no previous certificates, which means everything is assessed from scratch. If you have paperwork from a rewire, a board change, or a previous EICR, dig it out beforehand. It genuinely shortens the job.
EICR codes explained: C1, C2, C3 and FI
Landlord EICR reports are not a simple pass or fail. Every observation carries a code.
Code Meaning Effect on the report
C1 Danger present, risk of injury Unsatisfactory. Made safe immediately, before the electrician leaves
C2 Potentially dangerousUnsatisfactory. Remedial work required within 28 days
C3 Improvement recommendedSatisfactory. No action legally required
FI Further investigation requiredUnsatisfactory until resolved
A report is satisfactory only if there are no C1, C2 or FI items. A report full of C3s still passes.
That C3 column is worth reading rather than filing. C3s are usually modern standards your installation predates, and they preview what becomes a C2 at the next inspection when the standards move. That matters right now: BS 7671:2018+A4:2026 was published on 15 April 2026 and becomes the only edition in force from 15 October 2026. Landlords who clear C3s during a void period rarely get surprised five years later.
How much does a landlord EICR report cost?
Anyone quoting a single national price is guessing. The variables that actually matter:
Number of circuits. The big one. A one bedroom flat with six circuits is a different job to a four bedroom house with fifteen.
Age and condition of the installation. Older installations take longer to test and throw up more that needs investigating.
Access. Boarded lofts, fitted furniture over sockets and locked outbuildings all add time.
Whether remedial work is included. Some quotes cover minor remedials, most do not.
Two questions to ask before you book. What is included if minor faults are found, and will the remedial quote be itemised against the observation numbers on the report? Itemised remedials stop you paying twice for the same fault and prove each item was closed out.
Four things that catch landlords out
Between tenancies is the cheap time. An empty property means full access, no appointments to arrange, no tenant inconvenience and remedial work that does not need a second visit. The same job during a tenancy costs more in coordination than in labour.
Uncertified past work becomes your problem. If a previous owner ran a supply to a garden office without certification, it surfaces on your report, not theirs. Same with a kitchen refit where the electrics were done by the fitter.
An EICR report is not a PAT test. The EICR covers the fixed installation. Appliances you supply in a furnished let are separate, and PAT testing is good practice rather than a legal duty. It is not a gas safety check either.
The clock runs from the last inspection. Not from when you bought the property, and not from when the tenancy started.
A sensible routine for landlord EICR reports
Book the EICR into the same rhythm as your gas safety check. Put both renewal dates in one calendar with a reminder ninety days out, not thirty. Ninety days gives you room to schedule around a tenancy and to get remedial work quoted properly rather than accepting the first number.
If you hold several properties, stagger them rather than letting them all fall due in the same month.
Free EICR renewal reminders
Five years is long enough to forget. Send us the property address and the date of your last EICR and we will message you 90 days before it is due, and again at 30 days. Click here to fill out the form - one reminder per property, and you are under no obligation to use us for the inspection.
We carry out landlord EICR reports across Nottinghamshire, Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire. NAPIT and TrustMark registered, with BPSS and SC clearance.
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Frequently asked questions
How often do landlords need an EICR report? At least every five years, or sooner if the report specifies a shorter interval. The five years runs from the date of the last inspection, not from when you bought the property or started the tenancy.
Is an EICR a legal requirement for landlords in England? Yes. It has applied to all privately rented residential properties in England since 1 April 2021 under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020.
What happens if a landlord has no EICR? The local authority can require remedial work and impose a financial penalty of up to £30,000. Non-compliance can also expose you to rent repayment orders.
How long does a landlord EICR take? Three to four hours for a typical two or three bedroom property, with the power off in stages.
Who can carry out a landlord EICR report? A qualified and competent person, which in practice means an electrician registered with a scheme such as NAPIT or NICEIC. Always check the registration number on the scheme's own register.
Does a C3 mean my EICR failed? No. Only C1, C2 and FI observations make a report unsatisfactory. C3 is a recommendation.
Do I need to give my tenant a copy of the EICR? Yes. Existing tenants within 28 days of the inspection, new tenants before they move in, and the council within seven days of a request.
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