How often do landlords need an EICR?

The short answer

At least every five years. Under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, a landlord must have every electrical installation in a rented home inspected and tested by a qualified person at intervals of no more than five years. If the most recent report says the next inspection should happen sooner, that earlier date applies instead.

The installation must also have been inspected and tested before a tenancy begins. The inspection is usually recorded on an electrical installation condition report (EICR). If you need the inspection or the work behind it, see landlord electrical services.

Which lettings are covered

The rules apply where a tenant lives in the property as their only or main home and pays rent. That includes houses in multiple occupation. Since 2025 they also apply to social housing let by registered providers, with the first inspection of existing social tenancies due before 1 November 2026.

Some arrangements are excluded, including:

• lodgers sharing accommodation with the landlord or the landlord’s family
• long leases, including shared ownership, of seven years or more
• student halls of residence, hostels and refuges
• care homes, hospitals, hospices and other healthcare accommodation
• mobile homes, caravans and boats

These rules are for England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own requirements, and this guide does not cover them.

New tenants do not always need a new inspection

A fresh inspection is not needed for every change of tenant. If there is a report from within the last five years, and any work it required has been done, the landlord can rely on it and give the new tenant a copy. Where a property has been newly built or completely rewired, the Electrical Installation Certificate for that work can be provided instead, and no further report is needed for five years.

Government guidance still recommends at least a visual check before a new tenancy starts, to confirm nothing has been damaged since the last inspection.

Who must be given a copy, and when

• Existing tenants: within 28 days of the inspection.
• New tenants: before they move in.
• Prospective tenants who ask for it: within 28 days of the request.
• The local housing authority: within 7 days of a written request.
• The next inspector: the landlord keeps a copy until the next inspection is due or done, and gives it to the person carrying it out.

If the report requires work

When a report shows the electrical safety standards are not being met and requires remedial work or further investigation, the landlord must make sure it is carried out by a qualified person within 28 days, or within any shorter period the report specifies. The 28 days start on the date of the inspection, not the date the report is received.

After the work, the landlord needs written confirmation from the qualified person that the standards are now met, or that further work is needed. That confirmation goes, with a copy of the report that required the work, to each existing tenant and to the local housing authority within 28 days of the work being completed. If further investigation reveals more work, the same steps apply again to that work.

Observations coded C3, improvement recommended, are not requirements and do not trigger these deadlines. The codes are explained in What happens if an EICR is unsatisfactory?

Electrical equipment in social housing

Registered providers of social housing have an extra duty: electrical equipment they supply as part of a tenancy must be checked at least every five years too. Private landlords do not have this equipment duty under these regulations.

Enforcement

Local housing authorities can serve a remedial notice on a landlord who is in breach, arrange for urgent work to be done and recover the cost, and impose a financial penalty. The maximum penalty is currently £40,000.

Practical points

• Count the next due date from the inspection date on the report, and check whether the report sets an earlier one.
• Book well before the deadline, so there is time to complete any remedial work within 28 days.
• Keep reports, remedial confirmations and certificates for new work in one place; tenants, the council and the next inspector may all ask for them.
• If a letting agent manages the property, agree in writing who arranges inspections and who sends the copies. The duties in the regulations are placed on the landlord.

How Firefly works with landlords

I carry out inspections in rented homes and the remedial work that follows, and can send the report straight to you, your agent, or both. Remedial work is priced separately so you can decide. For rented property in the city, the Southampton inspection page has more on the local rented sector.