Landlord EICR Renewals: Is Yours Due in 2026-27?

The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 came into force on 1 June 2020. They applied in two stages:

• New tenancies granted from 1 July 2020
• Existing tenancies from 1 April 2021

The regulations require the electrical installation to be inspected and tested at least every five years. So landlords who rushed to get reports done before the April 2021 deadline will have seen those reports expire in spring 2026. Anyone who had their first report done for a new tenancy in late 2021 or 2022, or re-tested between lets, is coming due through 2026 and 2027.

The problem is that nobody sends you a reminder by default. If your letting agent changed, you sold and bought properties, or the original report is buried in an email from five years ago, it is easy to lose track.

Get out your current report and look for the section that gives the recommended date for the next inspection. This is the date that matters, not simply "five years from the inspection date".

That is because the inspector can recommend a shorter interval if they think the installation needs checking sooner. This is common on older installations or where there is evidence of wear and tear. The regulations say the next inspection must happen within five years, or earlier if the last report says so.

So if your report says three years, you need a new one in three years, even though the legal maximum is five.

If you cannot find the report at all, ask your letting agent or the electrician who did it. They should hold a copy. If neither can help, the safest assumption is that you need a new one.

Getting the inspection done is only part of it. The regulations also set clear deadlines for handing the report over:

• Existing tenants must be given a copy within 28 days of the inspection
• New tenants must be given a copy before they move in
• Prospective tenants who ask in writing must get a copy within 28 days of the request
• The local council must be given a copy within 7 days of a written request

You also need to keep a copy of the report until the next inspection is due, and give a copy to the electrician who carries out the next inspection.

A simple habit that saves a lot of hassle: as soon as you get the report, email a copy to your tenants and file it somewhere you will find it in five years.

An EICR uses codes to flag problems:

• C1: danger present, immediate action needed
• C2: potentially dangerous, urgent remedial action needed
• C3: improvement recommended
• FI: further investigation advised

If the report says further work is needed, the regulations require you to have it done within 28 days of the inspection, or sooner if the report specifies a shorter period. Once the work is finished, you must get written confirmation from the electrician that it has been done and the installation now meets the standard. You then have 28 days from completion to give that confirmation to your tenants and the council.

In practice, a C1 is usually dealt with on the day, because the inspector will make it safe before leaving. C2 items are the ones landlords need to budget for.

It is worth knowing that the current wiring regulations, BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, changed how FI codes affect the outcome. Under the latest version, an FI code on its own no longer makes the report unsatisfactory. C1 and C2 codes still do. C3 is a recommendation, not a requirement.

If your property fails, our guide on what happens if your property fails an EICR explains the next steps in more detail.

Councils enforce these rules and can issue a financial penalty of up to £40,000 per breach. The maximum used to be £30,000, but it was raised by amending regulations that took effect from 1 November 2025.

Councils can also serve a remedial notice and, if the landlord does not act, arrange the work themselves and recover the cost from the landlord.

Beyond the fines, there is the practical side. An out-of-date EICR can cause problems with letting agents, insurers and mortgage lenders, and it leaves you without evidence that you met your legal duty if something goes wrong.

The rules were extended to the social rented sector in England by amending regulations in 2025. The regulations are now called the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020. They apply to new social tenancies first, and to existing social tenancies from 1 May 2026.

If you are a private landlord, nothing about your own duties changes because of this. It just means the same five-yearly standard now applies across private and social rented homes in England.

Scotland and Wales have their own rules for rented property, set out in separate legislation. Both require regular electrical inspections, but the details are not identical to England. If you let property outside England, check the rules for that nation rather than relying on this guide.

The most common mistake we see is landlords leaving the renewal until the week the old report expires. That causes a few problems:

• Access: you need to give your tenants proper notice, and finding a time that suits them can take a while
• Remedial work: if the inspection finds C2 items, you then have 28 days to get them fixed. If the old report has already expired, you are out of date while that happens
• Busy periods: with so many first-round reports coming due at the same time, electricians' diaries fill up

A sensible approach is to book the inspection two to three months before the expiry date. That gives you time to arrange access and sort any remedial work without a gap in cover.

Get Free Reminders

To stop this happening again, sign up for our free EICR expiry reminder emails. Add your property and the date your current report runs out, and we will email you six months, three months and one month before it is due. It is free for landlords and homeowners, and you can add more than one property.

Our prices are fixed by property type and size, including VAT:

• Studio flat: from £115
• Flats: £135 for 1 bedroom, rising to £250 for 5 or more bedrooms
• Houses: £155 for 1 bedroom, rising to £310 for 5 or more bedrooms

You can see what our landlord EICR testing covers, or get an exact price in under a minute with our instant EICR quote. If you have several properties, see our landlords page for how we can help manage them.

For the full background on the legal requirements, read our guide to landlord EICR requirements.

If your EICR is due in the next year, the easiest step is to get a price and pencil in a date now. Get an instant EICR quote online, or contact us if you have a portfolio of properties and want to plan renewals together. We are NAPIT registered and cover Pontefract and the rest of West Yorkshire.