The law
The 2020 Regulations set six duties and a penalty
The EICR legal requirement for landlords comes from these regulations, and the technical standard behind the inspection is BS 7671, the 18th edition of the wiring regulations. Every statement on this page comes from the regulations themselves or from the government guidance on them, and each table lists its sources. Electrical safety standards in the UK are not uniform: this is general information about the law in England, not legal advice.
England. Wales and Scotland have separate regimes and different intervals.
Arrange an EICR
Three questions and a postcode. We match you to a qualified local electrician.
EICR regulations: what private landlords must do
What the law says
The duties, and the deadlines attached
| Inspection interval | No more than 5 years, or shorter where the report specifies |
|---|---|
| Report to existing tenants | Within 28 days of the inspection |
| Report to a new tenant | Before they occupy |
| Report to a prospective tenant | Within 28 days of a written request |
| Report to the local housing authority | Within 7 days of a written request |
| Remedial or further investigative work | Within 28 days, or sooner if the report specifies |
| Written confirmation the work is done | To tenants and the authority within 28 days of completion |
| Maximum financial penalty | £40,000, raised from £30,000 in 2025 |
This describes the law in England. The Welsh and Scottish positions differ, Scotland's repairing standard also covers portable appliances, which the England duty on private landlords does not. It is general information, not legal advice. Last checked against the primary sources on 27 August 2026.
When it came into force
- 1 June 2020: the regulations came into force
- 1 July 2020: applied to all new specified tenancies
- 1 April 2021: applied to all existing specified tenancies
Registered providers of social housing
The 2025 amendment extended the inspection duty to registered providers and added a duty in respect of electrical equipment the provider supplies, which private landlords do not have.
What the law says
Registered providers, and the November 2026 date
| Regulations in force | 1 November 2025 for most purposes |
|---|---|
| Applies to tenancies granted before 1 December 2025 | 1 May 2026 |
| First inspection and first equipment check | Before 1 November 2026 |
| Interval thereafter | No more than 5 years |
| Maximum financial penalty | £40,000 |
Sources
This describes the law in England. The Welsh and Scottish positions differ, Scotland's repairing standard also covers portable appliances, which the England duty on private landlords does not. It is general information, not legal advice. Last checked against the primary sources on 27 August 2026.
The penalty rose in 2025
A local housing authority can impose a financial penalty of up to £40,000, and more than one where a failure continues. The ceiling was £30,000 until the 2025 amendment raised it.
A great many pages still quote £30,000. If you are reading advice elsewhere, that figure is a reliable sign the page has not been updated.
Who enforces it
Your local housing authority. Across the area this site covers that is five councils, not one: Chesterfield Borough, North East Derbyshire District, Bolsover District, Amber Valley Borough and Derbyshire Dales District each cover part of it. The duty is national; the enforcing authority follows the boundary.
What you get
A report records circuits, codes and limitations
The verdict is the least useful part. What matters is the schedule of test results behind it, the coded observations, and an honest record of anything the inspection could not reach.
A ticked box and nothing else is a verdict with no working shown. Worth knowing before you accept one, whoever arranged it.
Standards
The standards every inspection is carried out to
An EICR is only as good as the person signing it. Every inspection here is carried out to these standards, and each one is checked against the issuing body's own register rather than taken on trust.
Qualified to inspect, not just to install
Inspecting an existing installation is a separate qualification from wiring a new one. A good installer is not automatically the right person to sign a report.
Registered with a competent person scheme
Checked on the scheme's own public register, not a badge on a website.
Public liability insurance, in date
We check the certificate and the expiry date, not just that one exists. A lapsed policy is the most common reason to turn someone away.
You get the test results
Not just a pass or fail. The report lists each circuit and the readings taken, which is the part worth checking.
Working to the current standard
BS 7671 as amended in 2026. That amendment changed which findings make a report unsatisfactory, and not everyone has caught up.
Reviews you can read
Not a star rating with no detail behind it. We publish no figure of our own, because we have none to publish yet.
Scheme registration and insurance details come with your quote, so you can check them against the public register yourself. How we choose electricians sets out every check, including what gets someone turned away.
Next step
Send your postcode and get a real quote
If your current report has months left, that is what you will be told.
Questions
The regulations questions
Do these regulations apply to holiday lets?
The regulations apply to specified tenancies, and a short-term holiday let is usually a different arrangement. This is a case to confirm for your specific letting rather than assume either way.
Do they apply if I let to a family member?
They turn on the type of tenancy rather than the relationship, so a tenancy with a family member may well be in scope. Worth checking properly rather than assuming a family arrangement sits outside them.
What if the local authority asks for the report?
You have seven days from a written request to supply it. That is a shorter deadline than the one for tenants and it is the one people are most often caught out by.
Get a quote
Arrange an EICR
Five fields. We reply with either a fixed price or the one thing we still need to know.
- No cost, and no obligation to book anything
- We come back with a date or a question, not a sales call
- A fixed price for the work described, in writing
Would rather talk it through? Leave a number in the form and say so in the details, and we will ring you rather than emailing back.