EICR for landlords: the 5-year electrical check

An EICR certificate (Electrical Installation Condition Report) is the report you get when a qualified person inspects and tests the electrical installation in a rented home. In England, private landlords need a new one at least every 5 years, and a copy must go to existing tenants within 28 days of the inspection and to new tenants before they move in. If the report calls for repairs, you have 28 days from the inspection to get them done.

The rules are in the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, which changed for private landlords on 1 November 2025. They sit alongside the other duties on our landlord compliance checklist.

What is an EICR certificate and who needs one?

Every private landlord letting a home in England needs one. The regulations require you to:

1. make sure the electrical safety standards are met whenever the property is occupied;
2. have every electrical installation inspected and tested by a qualified person at regular intervals, and before the tenancy begins;
3. get a report that gives the results and the date of the next inspection;
4. keep a copy until the later of the next due date and the next inspection, and give a copy to the next inspector.

The standard the installation is measured against is BS 7671:2018, the 18th edition of the wiring regulations. Many landlords call the report a landlord electrical certificate. The regulations call it a report, but it is the same document.

For tenancies that began on or after 1 May 2026, your written statement of terms must also explain these duties, including that the installation is inspected at least every 5 years and the tenant gets a copy of the report.

How often do you need an EICR?

At least every 5 years, or by any earlier date the latest report gives. If the inspector recommends the next inspection in 3 years, it is due in 3 years. Use the next inspection date printed on the report, not your own count.

Do you need a new EICR for each new tenancy?

Since 1 November 2025, the regulations say the installation must be inspected and tested "before the specified tenancy commences". The earlier wording referred to "the first inspection". The text doesn't settle whether an in-date report from an earlier tenancy covers a new one, and GOV.UK's landlord guide (dated 1 November 2025) doesn't address it.

Watch out: Until this is clarified, the cautious approach is to make sure the report is in date when a new tenancy starts, and to get a fresh inspection if the old report is close to its due date or the installation has changed since.

What happens if the report needs remedial work?

If the report shows the installation doesn't meet the standards, or might not, and requires further investigation or remedial work:

1. A qualified person must do the work within 28 days of the inspection, or within any shorter period the report specifies.
2. Get written confirmation from a qualified person that the work has been done.
3. Send that confirmation, with the report, to each existing tenant and the local council within 28 days of completing the work.
4. If the further investigation turns up more work, repeat the same steps for that work.

Here is how the deadlines run for an inspection on Tuesday 6 October 2026 where the report requires remedial work and sets no shorter period. We count the inspection day as day one, so the last safe day is 2 November rather than 3 November.

Step	Deadline or date
Inspection	Tuesday 6 October 2026
Copy of the report to existing tenants	By Monday 2 November 2026
Remedial work finished	By Monday 2 November 2026
Work actually completed (example)	Friday 23 October 2026
Confirmation and report to tenants and the council	By Thursday 19 November 2026
Next inspection	By the date on the report, and no later than October 2031

Who gets a copy of the EICR, and when?

Who	Deadline
Existing tenants	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 local council, if it asks in writing	Within 7 days of the request
The person doing the next inspection	When the next inspection takes place
Tenants and the council after remedial work	Report and written confirmation within 28 days of completing the work

EICR cost: what to budget

As an estimate, an EICR costs about £120 to £250. That range comes from a single commercial price survey updated in September 2026. The price depends on the size of the property and the number of circuits, and any remedial work is charged on top.

Note: Treat these figures as estimates only. Ask more than one qualified electrician for a quote, and ask what remedial work would cost before you agree to it.

Penalties, and does an EICR affect eviction?

The council enforces these rules, and its powers are wide:

• a financial penalty of up to £40,000 for each breach, raised from £30,000 on 1 November 2025;
• more than one penalty where the failure continues;
• remedial notices requiring you to do the work, and the power to arrange urgent remedial work itself.

In a licensed HMO or house, keeping the electrical installation safe and giving the council a declaration when asked is also a licence condition.

On possession, there is no statutory bar. The Housing Act 1988 section 7 sets out when the court can make a possession order and contains no electrical safety condition, and section 21 has been abolished. A breach can still matter in practice, for example if a tenant raises disrepair in a defended claim, so keep the report current before you serve any Section 8 notice.

The new private rented sector database will also ask for your EICR and its expiry date for each property, under the draft regulations laid on 9 September 2026.

EICR checklist for landlords

• Find the next inspection date on your current report and put it in your diary.
• Book a qualified person well before that date.
• Check the report covers every electrical installation and states the next due date.
• Give existing tenants a copy within 28 days, and new tenants a copy before they move in.
• If remedial work is needed, finish it within 28 days of the inspection, or sooner if the report says.
• Get written confirmation and send it, with the report, to tenants and the council within 28 days of completion.
• Keep the report until the later of the next due date and the next inspection.
• If a tenant refuses access, keep a dated record of every attempt to arrange entry.

What to do next

Add your EICR due date, and any remedial-work deadline, to ValidNotice's free compliance reminders so nothing runs past 28 days. Then check the gas safety certificate rules and the fire safety rules for rented homes.