Guides

What is an EICR report and why do you need one?

A plain-English guide to Electrical Installation Condition Reports: what gets inspected, what the law requires, what the codes mean, and what to do when a report comes back unsatisfactory.

What an EICR actually is

An Electrical Installation Condition Report is a formal health check of a building's fixed electrical installation: the consumer unit, the wiring in the walls, the circuits, sockets and switches. A qualified inspector tests and inspects the installation against BS 7671, the IET Wiring Regulations, then issues a report recording what was found. The report ends in one of two verdicts: satisfactory or unsatisfactory. It covers the installation itself, not portable appliances, which are covered by PAT testing.

A valid EICR is more than a front page. It must include the schedule of inspections (roughly ninety checklist items covering everything from the intake equipment to bathroom zones) and the schedule of circuit details and test results, with measured readings for every circuit. A certificate without its schedules attached is not valid.

What hazards does an EICR identify?

The inspection is designed to catch the faults that cause fires and electric shocks before they do: deteriorated or damaged wiring, overloaded circuits, missing earthing and bonding, inadequate RCD protection, faulty or outdated consumer units, signs of overheating or arcing at connections, and DIY alterations that were never done properly. Each finding is recorded as an observation with a classification code and a regulation reference.

The codes: C1, C2, C3 and FI

• C1, danger present. Risk of injury. Immediate remedial action is required; the inspector will usually make it safe on the spot.
• C2, potentially dangerous. Urgent remedial action is required.
• C3, improvement recommended. Not dangerous, but worth doing. C3 is the only code that does not fail the report.
• FI, further investigation required without delay.

Any C1, C2 or FI makes the overall assessment unsatisfactory. That rule is written into the report itself, and it is exactly the kind of consistency check that software should enforce rather than leave to memory.

The legal requirements for landlords

Since the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, landlords in England must have a valid EICR for every tenancy, renewed at least every 5 years. The duties are specific: give the report to existing tenants within 28 days of the inspection, give it to new tenants before they move in, supply it to the local authority within 7 days if they ask, and keep it to hand to the next inspector. Councils can fine landlords up to £30,000 per breach.

Business premises carry their own duties under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989, where a current EICR is the accepted way to demonstrate the fixed installation is maintained safely. Insurers increasingly ask for one too.

How often is an EICR needed?

• Rented homes in England: at least every 5 years, or as the report recommends.
• Owner-occupied homes: every 10 years is the general guidance, or on change of occupancy.
• Commercial premises: typically every 5 years.
• On buying or selling a property: strongly recommended, whatever the age of the last report.

Do I need an EICR for a new installation?

No. New electrical work is certified differently: a full new installation or rewire gets an Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC), and small additions like a new socket get a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate. The EICR is for assessing an existinginstallation's condition. The first EICR typically follows years later, at the intervals above.

My EICR is unsatisfactory. What now?

An unsatisfactory report is not a disaster; it is a work list. For rented property in England the remedial work for C1 and C2 items must be completed within 28 days, or sooner if the report says so, and the landlord must then obtain written confirmation from an electrician that the work is done, passing that to the tenant and, if they requested the report, the local authority. Keep the unsatisfactory report; together with the confirmation of remedial work it is the evidence of compliance.