Who Needs an EICR?

If you rent out property in England, you need one by law. If you own your home, you do not — but an EICR is still the only reliable way to know whether your electrics are safe. Below is who is covered, how often, and what happens when a report comes back unsatisfactory.

Landlords in England: it is a legal requirement

The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 require landlords to have the electrical installation in their rented properties inspected and tested at least every 5 years by a qualified person. You must give your tenants a copy of the report, and supply it to the local authority if they ask. A 2025 amendment extended the same duty to the social rented sector.

Local authorities can impose financial penalties for non-compliance. If the report specifies an interval shorter than 5 years, that shorter interval is the one you must work to.

Do you need a new EICR for every new tenant?

No. A valid report covers the property, not the tenancy. If your existing EICR is still in date you can give the incoming tenant a copy of it rather than commissioning a fresh inspection. What you must do is supply that copy before they move in.

In practice many landlords time a new inspection to a void period anyway, because access is straightforward and any remedial work can be completed before the next tenant arrives.

Homeowners

There is no legal obligation on an owner-occupier. Industry guidance suggests an inspection roughly every 10 years for an owner-occupied home, and sooner if you are buying, if the property has had an extension or rewire, or if you have no record of when it was last checked.

Buying or selling a property

An EICR is not legally required to sell a house. It has become common for buyers, solicitors and lenders to ask for one, and an unsatisfactory report discovered late in a transaction is a familiar cause of renegotiation. Getting one before listing puts you in control of the conversation. If you are buying, a home buyer’s EICR tells you what you are taking on before you commit.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

Electrical safety in rented housing is devolved, and the rules outside England are set separately. If your property is in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, check the current requirements with the relevant government guidance for that nation before relying on the England position set out above. We carry out inspections across the UK either way — call us on 0800 048 7474 if you would like to talk it through.

What if the report is unsatisfactory?

An unsatisfactory EICR means the inspector recorded at least one C1, C2 or FI code. For rented property in England the regulations require the remedial work to be completed within 28 days — or sooner if the report says so — with written confirmation to the tenant. We explain the codes and the process in detail in what happens if you fail an EICR, and we can carry out the remedial work and re-inspection ourselves.

Common questions

This page is general information, not legal advice. Regulations change and the position differs between the UK nations — check the current government guidance for your property, or speak to us if you are unsure.