EICR Costs UK — How to Price Electrical Installation Condition Reports in 2026

What an EICR Actually Is

An EICR — Electrical Installation Condition Report — is a formal assessment of a property's fixed electrical installation. It replaces the older terminology of Periodic Inspection Report (PIR), which you may still see on pre-2012 certificates. The two terms refer to the same thing; EICR is the current standard name under BS 7671 (the IET Wiring Regulations, 18th Edition including Amendment 2).

The inspection covers everything that is part of the fixed installation: the consumer unit (fuse board), all final circuits, wiring, sockets, switches, light fittings, earthing arrangements, and supplementary bonding. It does not cover portable appliances — that is PAT testing, a separate discipline.

The report classifies any defects found using a grading system (C1, C2, C3, FI) and concludes with an overall verdict: Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory. That verdict carries direct legal consequences for landlords. For you as the electrician, it determines whether a follow-up remedial job is coming or not.

Legal Requirements: Who Needs an EICR and How Often

Private Rental Properties (England)

The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 made EICRs a legal requirement for all private landlords in England. The obligations are straightforward:

• An EICR must be carried out at least every 5 years, or at each new tenancy if that falls sooner.
• Existing tenants must receive a copy within 28 days of the inspection.
• New tenants must receive a copy before they move in.
• The local housing authority must receive a copy within 7 days of a written request.
• Where the report is Unsatisfactory, remedial work must be completed within 28 days (or sooner if specified) and written confirmation from the electrician must be retained and shared with the tenant.

Non-compliance can result in civil penalties up to £30,000. Scotland introduced equivalent requirements in 2015; Wales followed with its own regulations in 2023.

HMOs

Houses in Multiple Occupation have required a valid EICR as a condition of mandatory HMO licensing well before the 2020 regulations. The 5-year inspection cycle applies, and licensing authorities can request the certificate at any time. HMOs typically have more circuits, higher wear on the installation, and more complex bonding requirements — which means more defect codes found, more remedial work, and higher justified fees.

Commercial Premises

Commercial inspection frequencies are set by Appendix 6 of BS 7671 and vary by occupancy type. Offices and retail premises: every 5 years. Industrial premises: every 3 years. Care homes and hospitals: annually. Entertainment venues: 1–3 years depending on the type. There is no single mandatory regulation equivalent to the 2020 Regulations for commercial property, but health and safety law (HSAWA 1974, PUWER) creates an implied duty to maintain electrical installations in a safe condition, and EICRs are the accepted way of demonstrating compliance.

Owner-Occupiers

No legal requirement exists for homeowners, but the IET recommends an EICR every 10 years or on purchase of a property. An increasing number of mortgage lenders and insurers are requesting a recent EICR for older properties — particularly pre-1980 housing stock — as a condition of lending or cover. This creates a steady stream of non-landlord EICR enquiries that are worth capturing.

EICR Costs UK: 2026 Market Rates by Property Type

The figures below reflect typical market rates in 2026 for a competent, scheme-registered electrician working in the Midlands or North. London and South East prices typically run 15–25% higher. These are complete inspection fees including the written report and certificate — not per-circuit rates.

These ranges reflect the market, not what you should charge. If you're faster than average, better equipped, and deliver a clean certificate within 24 hours, there is no reason to sit at the bottom of any of these ranges. The landlords who matter — the ones with portfolios, not one buy-to-let — do not choose purely on price.

Per-circuit pricing is an alternative to flat-rate pricing that works well for commercial and HMO work where circuit counts vary widely. A rate of £12–£18 per circuit plus a site visit fee of £60–£80 is a common structure. For domestic work, flat-rate pricing by bedroom count is simpler to quote and easier for customers to understand.

Factors That Affect EICR Pricing

Not all properties of the same size take the same time to inspect. These are the variables that justify charging above the midpoint — and that you should assess before quoting.

The EICR Code System: C1, C2, C3, FI Explained

Every observation recorded on an EICR is assigned a classification code. These codes determine the overall outcome (Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory) and the urgency of any action required. Being able to explain these codes clearly to a landlord — without alarming them unnecessarily — is part of what separates professional electricians from those who produce a certificate and disappear.

What Happens After a C1 or C2: Remedial Work and Re-Certification

When a landlord receives an Unsatisfactory EICR, the legal clock starts. They have 28 days to complete and evidence remedial work — or sooner if the report specifies a shorter timescale for a particular defect. The process:

1. Issue the Unsatisfactory report. The landlord must share it with the tenant within 28 days and provide it to the local authority on request.
2. Quote the remedial work separately. Do not bundle remedial costs into your original EICR price. You do not know the scope until the inspection is complete. Quote as a separate job once you have a clear picture of what needs doing.
3. Complete the remediation. Minor works — re-bonding, adding RCD protection, replacing a socket — are documented with a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate (MEIWC). More substantial work — rewiring circuits, replacing the consumer unit — requires an Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC).
4. Issue written confirmation. The landlord needs documentary evidence that C1 and C2 items have been resolved. This can be the MEIWC/EIC itself, or a signed letter on headed paper confirming the specific defect codes have been addressed and the installation is now satisfactory in those areas. A full re-EICR is not required unless the defects were so extensive that the original inspection is no longer valid.

As the electrician who carried out the inspection, you are in the best position to quote and complete the remedial work. You already have the schedule of circuits, you know the installation, and the landlord is under time pressure. Conversion rates from C1/C2 finding to remedial job typically run at 70–80% when you quote on the day of inspection.

Consumer Unit Upgrades Triggered by EICR

The single most valuable remedial job an EICR can generate is a consumer unit upgrade. A property with an old rewireable fuse board, a split-load board without RCD protection on socket circuits, or a metal enclosure consumer unit (no longer permitted under BS 7671 Amendment 2 in new installations) will almost always produce C2 codes that point directly toward a CU replacement.

When it is worth flagging: any consumer unit that lacks full 30mA RCD protection across all socket circuits is a likely C2. Any board without RCBO protection on all circuits (the current best-practice standard) is worth discussing. Any rewireable fuse board is worth discussing simply on grounds of inconvenience and response time when a fuse blows.

Typical consumer unit replacement costs in 2026:

• Standard domestic CU replacement (8–12 ways, dual RCD): £400–£600
• Full RCBO board (all circuits individually protected): £550–£750
• CU replacement with bonding upgrades and SPD: £650–£900
• CU replacement in an HMO with additional circuits: £700–£1,200+

Do not present the consumer unit upgrade as a upsell during the EICR quote — it looks like you've already decided what they need before you've inspected. Instead, mention it as a possibility when you book in the inspection if the property is pre-2000, then confirm on the day if the board warrants it.

How to Win and Keep Landlord Accounts

A landlord with 10 properties generates roughly 2 EICR jobs per year on a rolling 5-year cycle. A letting agency managing 200 properties generates 40 jobs per year — without you spending a penny on advertising. That is why winning a letting agent relationship is worth more than any Google Ads campaign.

Targeting the right letting agents

Focus on independent letting agents managing 100–500 properties, not the national chains whose compliance work is handled centrally. An independent property manager has the authority to appoint you directly and cares about two things: certificates arriving fast and no complaints from landlords about the inspector. Visit in person rather than emailing. Bring a sample certificate so they can see the format. Mention turnaround time — if you can promise a signed certificate within 24–48 hours, you are ahead of most competitors who take 5–10 working days.

Volume pricing without racing to the bottom

Offer a structured volume rate rather than simply discounting. Example: standard domestic EICR £200 single property; £180 per property for 5–9 per year; £160 per property for 10+. This rewards commitment without cutting your margin on individual jobs. The efficiency of batching jobs in the same postcode zone — 3–4 properties on the same day in the same area — makes the lower per-job rate perfectly profitable.

Bulk HMO contracts

HMO landlords face mandatory EICR renewal every 5 years, and the complexity of their properties means they prefer a trusted electrician who understands the licensing requirements over a random cheap quote. Price HMO work per room plus a base charge — for example, £120 base plus £35 per lettable bedroom — rather than a flat rate. This is transparent, easy to verify against the property schedule, and automatically accounts for variability in property size.

Building a 5-year renewal system

Every EICR you issue is a 5-year renewal in your pipeline. Without a system to track this, you lose that customer to whoever they find on Google when the renewal comes up. Set up a renewal reminder at 3 months before expiry and again at 4 weeks before expiry. A landlord who receives a proactive reminder from their own electrician will rebook without getting three quotes — especially if the relationship has been positive and the paperwork has always arrived on time.

Which marketing channels bring in landlord work

Referral from a letting agent is by far the highest-converting source of landlord EICR work. Google organic search (people searching “EICR [your town]“) converts well for one-off landlords. Google Ads converts but the cost-per-lead can be high relative to EICR fees unless your conversion rate and remedial work attachment are strong. Checkatrade and similar directories convert for domestic homeowners but rarely produce the portfolio landlord clients who generate repeat volume. Track every enquiry source so you know where your best clients actually come from — not where you assume they come from.

How to Present EICR Quotes Professionally

A professional EICR quote does three things: it specifies exactly what is included, it makes clear what is excluded, and it explains what happens if C1 or C2 codes are found. Landlords who understand the process upfront do not argue about remedial work invoices later.

What to include in the quote

• Full visual inspection and testing of all fixed circuits in the property
• Written EICR report with classification codes for all observations
• Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory verdict and overall condition rating
• Signed and dated certificate with scheme registration number
• Digital copy of the report (PDF) within stated turnaround time
• Brief verbal debrief with the landlord or agent on the day

What to exclude explicitly

• Remedial or repair work of any kind (quoted separately after inspection)
• PAT testing of portable appliances
• Inspection of circuits or equipment not accessible on the day
• Gas safety check or boiler service

Explaining C1/C2 obligations to the landlord

Include a plain-English paragraph in your quote that reads something like: “If the inspection identifies any C1 (immediate danger) or C2 (potentially dangerous) observations, the report will be Unsatisfactory and you will be legally required to arrange remediation within 28 days. We will provide a separate quote for any such work on the day of inspection. A C3 (improvement recommended) observation does not affect the Satisfactory status of the report and carries no mandatory remediation obligation.” This sets expectations, removes surprises, and positions your remedial quote as an expected part of the process rather than an add-on.

Flat rate vs per-circuit pricing

For domestic properties, flat-rate pricing by bedroom count or property size is cleaner to communicate and easier for landlords to budget. For commercial and HMO work, per-circuit pricing is more defensible because circuit counts are unpredictable. Consider quoting commercial EICRs with a day-rate cap — e.g., “£X per circuit, maximum £Y for a single day on site” — to give the client cost certainty while protecting your time.