The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 apply to privately rented homes in Suffolk exactly as elsewhere: new tenancies from 1 July 2020, existing tenancies from 1 April 2021, inspection at intervals of no more than five years, a copy to existing tenants within 28 days, to a new tenant before they move in, to a prospective tenant within 28 days of asking, and to the council within seven days of a request. The penalty for a breach is up to £30,000.

The regulations apply to tenancies where the property is the tenant's only or main home, and two Suffolk markets sit at the edges of that. Lets to American service families around the Mildenhall bases are ordinary tenancies and are fully covered, and the base housing offices commonly expect current safety certificates in any case. Holiday lets around Felixstowe and Woodbridge are not tenancies in the regulations' sense, so the 2020 duty does not apply to them, but insurers and letting platforms increasingly ask for an in-date EICR and the duty of care to guests does not go away.

If the report sets a retest date sooner than five years, that date binds. Rural installations on their own earth electrode are the ones most often given a shorter interval.

The licensing duty that matters most in Suffolk is the mandatory HMO licence for a house shared by five or more people from two or more households, and Ipswich's student and shared houses are where it arises. Some Suffolk authorities have used or consulted on additional licensing beyond the mandatory scheme; confirm the current position with the council for your postcode.

Where a licence applies, a satisfactory EICR is normally a condition and is expected to be produced on request.

For an Ipswich student house the timing that works is the summer vacation, so that any remedial work is done in an empty property before the September intake. Tell us when you book if a licence application is setting your deadline.

Our coverage is roughly fifteen miles around Ipswich and Bury St Edmunds and twelve around Newmarket. The inspecting electrician needs access to the consumer unit, to the meter position, to every room, and to any outbuilding with a supply. On a TT installation we also need to find the earth electrode, so if you know where the rod is, say so.

Tenants need to know in advance that the power will be off for parts of the testing. A typical two or three bedroom property takes between two and four hours; a rural property with outbuildings takes longer, and a yard is inspected separately.

Access is the usual cause of delay on a tenanted property. Lets to service families come with the base housing office's own paperwork, which we are used to, and Ipswich student houses are best inspected in the vacation.