EICR and electrical safety certificates for London landlords
An EICR is a recorded inspection and test of the fixed electrical installation: the consumer unit, the circuits, the fixed wiring, the sockets and the switches. An electrician inspects and tests the installation, codes anything that falls short and issues a report that says satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Rented homes in England need one at least every five years.
AT LEAST EVERY 5 YEARS
EICR
An EICR is a recorded inspection and test of the fixed electrical installation: the consumer unit, the circuits, the fixed wiring, the sockets and the switches. An electrician inspects and tests the installation, codes anything that falls short and issues a report that says satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Rented homes in England need one at least every five years.
QUICK ANSWERS
What is an EICR?
A recorded inspection and test of the fixed wiring in a property, carried out by an electrician and reported against BS 7671. It states whether the installation is satisfactory for continued use.
How often does a rented home need one?
At least every five years, and at the start of a new tenancy if the existing report has expired. The report may specify a shorter interval.
How much does an EICR cost in London?
From £72.99 for a studio. Larger properties are priced by bedroom count, and every band is listed in the price table on this page. The price is for the inspection and the report; any remedial work is priced separately.
How long does it take?
It depends on the size of the property and the number of circuits. The power is off for parts of the test, so tenants need to know in advance.
Electrical safety certificates for landlords
An EICR is not a visual walk round. The electrician isolates the installation, tests each circuit for continuity, insulation resistance, polarity, earth fault loop impedance and RCD operation, then records the readings circuit by circuit on a schedule of test results.
The report ends with one word that matters: satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Anything coded C1, C2 or FI makes it unsatisfactory, and the 28 days allowed for remedial work run from the date of the inspection and test.
Landlords often ask for an “electrical safety certificate”. For a rented home in England, that is usually this report. Under the 2020 Regulations you give a copy to existing tenants within 28 days of the inspection and test, to a new tenant before they move in, and to the local authority within seven days of a written request. You also keep a copy until the next inspection is due.
LEGAL BASIS
Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020
Fixed electrical installations in rented homes must be inspected and tested at least every five years. The report goes to tenants, and to the local authority within seven days of a written request.
Residential and commercial electrical inspections
Private landlords
Most privately rented homes in England need the fixed electrical installation inspected and tested at least every five years. This service covers flats and houses, priced by the number of bedrooms.
Letting agents and property managers
Book on a landlord’s behalf one property at a time, or send a portfolio to the letting-agent trade desk. You arrange access with the tenant and tell us who will let the electrician in.
HMOs
Most privately rented HMOs in England are covered by the same 2020 Regulations. Prices are set by bedroom count, and properties with nine or more bedrooms are quoted rather than priced online.
Commercial premises
Shops, offices and other business premises are inspected under a separate commercial EICR, which is priced by the number of circuits rather than by bedrooms.
SUITABLE PROPERTY TYPES
- Residential property
CATEGORY
Electrical Safety Services
EICR testing in London: what happens on the day
Visual inspection
The consumer unit, protective devices, bonding, accessible cabling and accessories checked for damage, wear, overheating and unsafe DIY work.
Dead testing
Supply isolated. Continuity of protective conductors, ring final circuit continuity, insulation resistance and polarity tested on every circuit.
Live testing
Supply restored. Earth fault loop impedance, prospective fault current and RCD trip times measured against the limits in BS 7671.
Results recorded per circuit
Every reading written to the schedule of test results, with each circuit identified, so the next inspection has a baseline to work from.
Report issued
The report records the observations, classification codes and overall assessment, together with the recommended date for the next inspection.
EICR prices in London
Tiers are priced by what is actually being inspected. Every line can be booked directly.
| TIER | UNIT OF SALE | PRICE | Book |
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | Studio | £72.99 | Book EICR, Studio |
| 1–3 bedrooms | 1–3 bedrooms | £92.99 | Book EICR, 1–3 bedrooms |
| 4 bedrooms | 4 bedrooms | £102.99 | Book EICR, 4 bedrooms |
| 5 bedrooms | 5 bedrooms | £135.99 | Book EICR, 5 bedrooms |
| 6 bedrooms | 6 bedrooms | £155.99 | Book EICR, 6 bedrooms |
| 7 bedrooms | 7 bedrooms | £175.99 | Book EICR, 7 bedrooms |
| 8 bedrooms | 8 bedrooms | £195.99 | Book EICR, 8 bedrooms |
| 9+ bedrooms | 9+ bedrooms | Quoted on request | Quote EICR, 9+ bedrooms |
The price is set by the property’s bedroom category, shown on each line above, and covers the inspection and the report. Any remedial work the report identifies is priced separately. Please confirm any additional charges with us before you book. Inspecting a shop, office or other business premises? Commercial EICR is priced by circuit.
How to read your EICR
Observations carry a classification code. The code, not the wording, decides whether the report is satisfactory and how fast you have to act.
Danger present
Danger is present and there is a risk of injury. Immediate remedial action is required to remove the danger.
Potentially dangerous
No immediate danger, but the fault could become dangerous. Urgent remedial action required.
Further investigation
Something could not be assessed and needs investigation without delay to establish whether it is a C1 or C2.
Improvement recommended
Not a breach and not a danger. Worth doing at the next opportunity, and it does not make the report unsatisfactory.
A single C1, C2 or FI makes the whole report unsatisfactory. C3 does not.
If the report is unsatisfactory
28 days, or sooner
Remedial work or further investigation must be completed within 28 days of the inspection and test, or sooner if the report specifies a shorter period.
Immediate danger
Anything presenting immediate danger is coded C1, which calls for action straight away to remove the danger.
Remedial work priced separately
Work the report identifies is not part of the inspection price.
Your choice of contractor
You are free to instruct anyone qualified to do the work.
Written confirmation
Get written confirmation from whoever completes the work. The 2020 Regulations require you to send it to your tenants and to the local authority within 28 days of the work being completed.
Asked about EICR.
Yes, for most private tenancies in England. Some tenancy types are excluded. The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 require the fixed installation to be inspected and tested by a qualified person at least every five years. A copy of the report goes to existing tenants within 28 days of the inspection and test, and to the local authority within seven days of a written request.
Usually, yes. "Electrical safety certificate" is the everyday name for the EICR that rented homes in England need under the 2020 Regulations. Strictly it is a report rather than a certificate. Other electrical paperwork, such as the certificate issued after new wiring work, is a different document and is not the periodic report this page covers.
The 2020 Regulations require a "qualified person", meaning someone competent to carry out the inspection and testing. They do not name a particular scheme or qualification, so ask whoever inspects your property for their qualifications before the visit.
A visual inspection of the consumer unit, protective devices, wiring and accessories, then testing with the supply switched off and, after that, switched on. Readings are recorded circuit by circuit, observations are coded, and the report gives an overall result of satisfactory or unsatisfactory. Anything that cannot be accessed or tested is recorded as a limitation. The power is off for parts of the visit.
The report lists the observations coded C1, C2 or FI that made it unsatisfactory. Under the 2020 Regulations, the remedial work or further investigation must be carried out by a qualified person within 28 days of the inspection and test, or sooner if the report says so, and you must send written confirmation of the completed work to your tenants and the local authority within 28 days of completion. The result depends on the condition of the installation, so no inspection can promise a satisfactory report.
Choose your property’s bedroom band in the price table and book online, picking an available weekday morning or afternoon appointment. You can also call us or send a WhatsApp message. You arrange access with your tenant and tell us who will let the electrician in.
In most cases, yes. The 2020 Regulations cover privately rented HMOs in England as they do other private lets, and they replaced the separate electrical testing rule in the HMO management regulations. HMO licences also carry a condition that every electrical installation is in proper working order and safe for continued use.
For parts of the test, yes. Dead testing needs the installation isolated. Tenants should be told in advance so nothing important is running.
An EICR covers the fixed installation: the wiring, the consumer unit and the accessories. PAT testing covers the portable appliances you supply with the property. A furnished let usually needs both.
No. The report runs for its stated period, up to five years. You need a new one when it expires, or sooner if the report specifies an earlier re-inspection.
Ask us when you receive the report. Remedial work is priced separately from the inspection, and you are free to use any qualified contractor.
Residential EICR in London.
Serving Central London and nearby postcodes. One engineer network and one renewal calendar. Where the qualifications overlap, several services can be covered in a single visit.
Usually booked in the same visit.
Gas Safety Certificate
Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998
Energy Performance Certificate
Energy Performance of Buildings (England and Wales) Regulations 2012, with the Energy Efficiency (Private Rented Property) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015
PAT Testing
Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, and the mandatory licence conditions in Schedule 4 to the Housing Act 2004
Book an EICR anywhere in London.
Weekday morning and afternoon appointments.