Is an EICR a legal requirement for landlords?

Landlords often ask whether an EICR is genuinely required by law or simply recommended. For privately rented homes in England the answer is clear, and it rests on a specific set of regulations.

The law that makes an EICR mandatory

The requirement comes from the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, which came into force on 1 June 2020. They place a duty on private landlords to ensure that the electrical installations in their rented properties are inspected and tested by a qualified and competent person at least every 5 years. The standard against which the installation is checked is BS 7671, the national standard for electrical installations, currently in its 18th Edition.

In practice the duty has three core parts: arrange the inspection on time, obtain the written EICR from the inspector, and supply that report to the people who are entitled to it. The landlord must also make sure the installation is kept in a condition that meets the standard throughout the tenancy, not only on the day of the inspection.

Which tenancies are covered, and which are not

The regulations apply to most private tenancies where a person has the right to occupy a property as their only or main residence and pays rent. That covers the standard assured shorthold tenancy that the majority of private lets in England use, as well as licences to occupy in many cases.

Some arrangements fall outside these particular regulations. The main exclusions include:

• Long leases of seven years or more, and tenancies that grant a right of occupation for seven years or more.
• Social housing provided by a registered provider, which is dealt with separately.
• Lodgers who share accommodation with the landlord as part of the landlord's own home.
• Student halls of residence, care homes, hospitals and other specified accommodation.

Houses in multiple occupation (HMOs) are covered by the 2020 regulations, although licensed HMOs were already subject to electrical safety obligations under earlier HMO rules.

General summary for England under the Electrical Safety Standards 2020. Confirm your own position on GOV.UK. Source: GOV.UK guidance.

What being 'required by law' means in practice

Because the EICR is a legal requirement, the consequences of skipping it are not limited to safety risk. A local authority that becomes aware a landlord has not met the standards can serve a remedial notice and, where the breach continues, impose a financial penalty. The duty also sits alongside other letting obligations such as gas safety and the Right to Rent checks, so an in-date EICR is part of the wider compliance picture rather than a stand-alone box to tick.

The report itself does not have to be carried out by any one named scheme, but it must be done by someone qualified and competent. In practice most landlords use an electrician registered with a competent-person scheme such as NICEIC or NAPIT, because that registration provides clear evidence of competence if the report is ever questioned.

Who counts as a 'qualified and competent person'

The regulations do not name a single qualification, but they do require the inspection and test to be carried out by someone qualified and competent to do the work. In practice this means an electrician with the right training and experience in inspection and testing to BS 7671, who carries appropriate insurance and ideally holds the relevant inspection-and-testing qualification. The government guidance suggests landlords use the membership of a competent-person scheme as a starting point for checking competence, and may ask the electrician to confirm their experience, qualifications and insurance.

This matters because the weight of the report depends on who produced it. An EICR from a clearly qualified inspector registered with NICEIC or NAPIT is straightforward evidence of compliance. A report from someone whose competence cannot be shown is far weaker if the installation later fails or an authority questions it. Checking the inspector's credentials before the work is, in effect, part of meeting the duty rather than an optional extra.

How the EICR duty sits with the rest of letting compliantly

The EICR rarely sits in isolation. A compliant private let in England usually involves several overlapping duties, and the electrical requirement is one strand of that wider picture. Alongside the 5-yearly EICR a landlord will typically also need to consider an annual gas safety check where there are gas appliances, working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms, an Energy Performance Certificate, the protection of any deposit in an approved scheme, and the relevant Right to Rent checks.

Treating the EICR as one item on a single compliance checklist, rather than a stand-alone task, tends to be the most reliable way to keep on top of it. Because the electrical duty renews every five years while some others renew annually, landlords often keep a simple record of each property's certificate dates so nothing lapses. The penalty regime applies specifically to the electrical duty, but a missed EICR is frequently a symptom of compliance slipping more generally, which is why keeping the whole picture in view helps. As with all of these duties, the detail can change, so a landlord should confirm the current requirements on GOV.UK rather than relying on older information.

Frequently asked questions

Sources & further reading

• GOV.UK — electrical safety standards in the private rented sector: guidance
• Electrical Safety First — landlords

Figures on this page are typical UK ranges drawn from published sources and depend on your specific property. They are guidance, not a quotation. Legal duties are summarised for guidance — confirm the current position on GOV.UK.