5-year EICR anniversary: important milestone for landlords

Landlords in England and Scotland are being urged to check the expiration date on their Electrical Installation Condition Reports (EICR), with many due to run out this year.

In England, it has been a legal requirement for privately let properties to have a valid EICR since 1st June 2020. Scotland was a much earlier adopter, with EICRs in buy-to-lets made mandatory on 1st December 2015.

With an EICRs validity only stretching to five years, thousands of landlords will find they need to renew their EICR in the coming weeks and months. For reference, the EICR was made compulsory in Wales on 1stDecember 2022, so the first batch of reports there will remain valid for another two years at least.

Concern is growing for those landlords who self-manage. Unlike landlords who use a professional property manager, who will ensure every let in their portfolio is legally compliant on the landlords’ behalf, a self-managing landlord needs to keep track of compliance dates and deadlines themselves.

The worry was born out in new research by Direct Line. During a recent survey, it found one in three landlords (32%) were either uncertain about the validity of their EICR or they lacked a valid one entirely, putting the safety of their tenants at risk and leaving themselves open to substantial fines. 

On the latter point, 21% of landlords were actually unaware that failing to possess a valid EICR could lead to financial penalties. It’s also worth noting an in-date EICR will validate insurance policies and may be critical if the landlord needs to regain possession of the property.

With the first five-year EICR anniversary in England and the second in Scotland, many landlords will find their property needs to be reinspected in 2025. Therefore, now is a good time to provide this 10-point EICR refresher:

1. An EICR is mandatory in privately rented properties in England, Wales and Scotland

2. Each EICR is valid for five years, after which it expires 

3. Landlord can be fined up to £30,000 if they don’t have a valid EICR

4. An EICR may be known as PIT or ‘periodic inspection and testing’ 

5. Electrical installation work across the UK should conform with BS 7671 to satisfy building standards requirements

6. An EICR must be performed by a qualified and competent contractor, ideally a member of a competent person scheme, such as NICEIC, ELECSA or NAPIT

7. The EICR must be freely available to incumbent and prospective tenants

8. Landlords may not be able to regain their property via eviction if a valid EICR isn’t in place

9. Many buy-to-let insurance policies will only be valid if the EICR is in date

10. Landlords have a legal duty to act on safety recommendations detailed in the EICR and do so within a prescribed time frame

During an inspection, the following electrical wiring installation and systems will be examined:

• The consumer unit(s)/fuse box

• Light fittings

• Light switches

• Socket outlets

• Any visible wiring e.g. surface wiring installed in PVC mini trunking

• Any electrical equipment that may have been installed in an accessible loft space with supplies to renewable energy sources

• Fixed electrical heating equipment, such as storage heaters or convector panel heaters

• Electric showers and over/under-sink water heaters

• Boilers and other heat producing equipment, such as storage heaters, convection panel heaters, and electric heated towel rails and underfloor heating

• Hard-wired smoke, heat and carbon monoxide detectors

• The contractor will be looking for sufficiency of earthing and bonding, detrimental wear and tear, exposed live wires that pose a fire or safety risk, damage to fittings and accessories, and evidence of devices that protect against fire and electric shocks.

• An EICR does not check the condition of non-fixed appliances such as white and brown goods. We suggest landlords should follow good practice and arrange for regular portable appliance testing (PAT) on any non-fixed electrical appliances that are provided as part of the tenancy agreement.

We are here to help landlords fulfil their electrical safety compliance duties. Get in touch if you need support with a new EICR and PAT testing.