The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 apply to every privately rented home in London, for new tenancies from 1 July 2020 and for existing tenancies from 1 April 2021, and a 2025 amendment extended the same duty to the social rented sector. The fixed installation must be inspected and tested at intervals of no more than five years.

London tenancies turn over faster than anywhere else in England, and the deadline that catches London landlords is the one attached to a new tenancy: a copy of the current report has to be given to the incoming tenant before they occupy the property. With voids measured in days rather than weeks, an out-of-date report discovered at the check-in is a problem with no comfortable answer.

The rest follows the national pattern. Existing tenants get a copy within 28 days of the inspection, a prospective tenant within 28 days of asking, the borough within seven days of a request. The penalty is up to £30,000 for each breach, and London boroughs have been among the most active enforcers in the country. A shorter retest interval written into the report overrides the five years.

London has by far the densest licensing landscape in England. Beyond the mandatory HMO licence for larger shared houses, a large number of boroughs run additional licensing for smaller ones, and some run selective licensing borough-wide or ward by ward. Two properties a mile apart can face different rules, and a property can move in or out of a scheme when it is renewed.

Licence conditions almost always require a satisfactory EICR, and many require it to be produced within a set number of days of being asked. Boroughs do check, and a licence application with no report behind it is one of the more common reasons we get a call with a deadline attached.

We do not publish a borough-by-borough list because it would be wrong within months. Confirm the current position with the borough for your postcode, and tell us when you book if a licence is what is driving the date.

We cover all 32 boroughs. The inspecting electrician needs access to the consumer unit, to the meter position, and to every room. In London the meter position is very often a communal cupboard locked by the managing agent, and a locked cupboard is the single most common cause of an abortive visit in the capital. Arrange the key before the day.

The supply is switched off for parts of the testing, so tenants need to know in advance, and in a shared house every occupant does. A one or two bedroom flat takes between an hour and a half and three hours; a large HMO takes longer.

Most of London is a controlled parking zone. A visitor permit or an arranged space means the inspector starts on time rather than after circling the block, and telling us about a concierge, an entry system or a key safe when you book removes the usual delays at the door.