EICRs Explained for UK Electricians — Landlord Duties, Codes and Pricing the Work (2026)

What an EICR Actually Is

An EICR is an Electrical Installation Condition Report: a periodic inspection and test of a fixed electrical installation — the wiring, consumer unit, accessories and fixed equipment — carried out against BS 7671, the IET Wiring Regulations. The report records the condition of the installation, lists any defects or departures from the standard using a set of classification codes, and gives an overall assessment of whether the installation is SATISFACTORY or UNSATISFACTORY for continued use.

It is important to keep the EICR separate in your head from an EIC. An Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) is issued when you carry out new installation work or an addition — it certifies that the work you have just done complies with BS 7671. An EICR, by contrast, is an inspection of an existing installation that you may not have touched at all. It is a condition report, not a certificate of new work. Customers and even some tradespeople conflate the two, so it pays to be clear about which document a job needs before you quote.

The Landlord Rules (England)

The big driver of EICR demand is the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020. Under these rules, private landlords in England must:

• Have the electrical installation inspected and tested at least every 5 years — or sooner if the previous report specifies a shorter interval.
• Provide a copy of the report to existing tenants within 28 days, to new tenants before they move in, and to prospective tenants on request.
• Supply a copy to the local authority within 7 days if it requests one.
• Where the report identifies any C1, C2 or FI items, carry out the remedial or further investigative work within 28 days (or any shorter period stated in the report) and obtain written confirmation that the work has been completed.

Local authorities can serve remedial notices and ultimately impose financial penalties of up to £30,000 for breaches, so landlords have a strong incentive to keep their reports current and act on findings quickly. That is exactly why EICR work is so recurring — the five-year clock resets on every property, every cycle.

Scotland and Wales have their own arrangements and timescales, so do not assume the England regulations apply across the UK — always check the rules for the nation you are working in. And the landlord sector is not the whole story: EICRs are recommended periodically for owner-occupiers (commonly suggested at around 10 years for an owner-occupied home), and they are frequently required for commercial premises, for insurance purposes, and on change of occupancy. Plenty of EICR work sits outside the lettings market entirely.

The Classification Codes

The coding is the heart of an EICR, and getting it right is the single most important skill in this work. Every observation you record against a defect or departure is given one of four codes. Those codes determine whether the installation passes or fails, so a wrong code has real consequences — over-coding creates unnecessary cost and friction, under-coding can leave a genuine danger in service.

The rule that ties it together is simple: any C1, C2 or FI makes the overall report UNSATISFACTORY. A report that contains only C3 observations — and no C1, C2 or FI — is still SATISFACTORY. A C3 says "this could be improved" but it does not, on its own, fail the installation.

Two coding mistakes do real damage to your reputation. The first is over-coding — marking a C3 improvement as a C2 to be "safe", which forces an unnecessary failure and remedial cost on the client. The second, far more serious, is under-coding — recording a genuine danger as a C3 to keep a report satisfactory and avoid an awkward conversation. Code each observation honestly against the actual risk, document your reasoning, and you will rarely go wrong. When you are unsure whether something warrants a C2 or a C3, the question to ask is whether the defect is potentially dangerous as found — if it is, it is a C2.

What an EICR Involves

A proper EICR is a combination of careful visual inspection and electrical testing, not a quick look at the consumer unit. The work breaks down into:

• Visual inspection of accessible parts of the installation — board, accessories, wiring condition, signs of overheating, damage or unsafe DIY work.
• Dead testing with circuits isolated and de-energised — continuity of protective conductors, ring final circuit continuity, insulation resistance, polarity.
• Live testing with the installation re-energised — earth fault loop impedance and RCD operation.
• Sampling — on larger installations it is not always practical to test every point, so a representative sample is inspected and tested, with the extent of sampling recorded on the report.

Through this process you are looking for the common defects that drive codes: no RCD protection on circuits that should have it, old or damaged wiring (rubber, lead or early PVC), missing or inadequate earthing and bonding, overloaded or unsuitable consumer units, undersized cables, and unsafe additions. Each observation is recorded with its code, and the inspector then gives the overall satisfactory/unsatisfactory assessment and recommends a date for the next inspection.

Who Can Carry Out an EICR

An EICR must be carried out by a competent, qualified electrician who is suitably experienced in inspection and testing — not simply someone qualified to install. Competence to wire a circuit is not the same as competence to assess and code an existing installation, and the regulations and BS 7671 both make the point that the inspector must have the right skills and experience for the work.

In practice that means holding the relevant inspection and testing qualification — the City & Guilds 2391 (or an equivalent qualification) is the recognised benchmark — alongside a sound, up-to-date knowledge of the current edition of BS 7671. Most clients, and many landlords' agents, will also expect the inspector to be registered with a competent person scheme such as NICEIC or NAPIT. Registration gives the client confidence and gives you access to assessed certification and audit. Above all, the inspector must be genuinely experienced at inspection and testing, because the value of an EICR is entirely in the judgement behind the codes.

Pricing EICR Work

EICR pricing is driven mainly by the number of circuits and consumer units, the size of the property, and how easy the installation is to access. A two-bed flat with a single board and a handful of circuits is a quick job; a large house with multiple boards, outbuildings and a poorly documented installation takes far longer to inspect and test properly. As a rough guide for current UK domestic work:

• Small flat or one-bed (few circuits, single board): £100–£180
• Average 2–3 bed house: £150–£300
• Larger homes, multiple boards or light commercial: £300+, priced on assessment

Two things matter when you set your number. First, remedial works are quoted separately — the EICR fee buys the inspection, test and report; any C1, C2 or FI work that comes out of it is a distinct job with its own price. Make that clear up front so the client is not surprised when a failed report is followed by a remedial quote. Second, do not race to the bottom. A thorough EICR is time-consuming when it is done properly, with circuits isolated and tested point by point. The suspiciously cheap EICRs in the market are cheap because corners are cut and coding gets rushed — and rushed coding is where dodgy reports come from. Price for the time the work actually takes.

The flip side of all this compliance is genuine recurring revenue. A landlord with a portfolio of properties needs every one inspected on the five-year cycle, plus reports on change of tenancy and remedial work whenever a report fails. Win one good portfolio client and you have years of predictable EICR and remedial work on the books.

Practical Tips for Doing EICRs Well

• Code accurately and defensibly. For every observation, be able to explain why that code and not another. If you would be comfortable justifying it to an assessor or in front of a client, it is probably right.
• Photograph defects. A clear photo of a missing earth, a scorched terminal or unsafe wiring supports your coding, helps the client understand the issue, and protects you if a report is ever questioned.
• Explain the results to the client. Most clients — and many landlords — do not understand what satisfactory or unsatisfactory means. Walk them through the codes and what each one requires.
• Quote remedials clearly. List each C1, C2 and FI item against a price so the client can see exactly what needs doing and what it will cost. This is also where most of your follow-on revenue comes from.
• Keep records and copies. Retain your reports, test results and certificates. Landlords have to hold them too, but your own records are your evidence and your reference for the next inspection cycle.
• Use proper EICR software and certs. Standardised certification software keeps your reports compliant, legible and consistent, and saves significant time over handwritten forms — especially across a portfolio.

Frequently Asked Questions

How often does a landlord need an EICR?

In England, the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 require private landlords to have the installation inspected and tested at least every 5 years — or sooner if the previous report specifies a shorter interval. Scotland and Wales have their own rules and timescales, so check the requirements for the nation the property is in.

What is the difference between a C2 and a C3?

A C2 means the defect is potentially dangerous and needs urgent remedial action — it makes the report unsatisfactory. A C3 means an improvement is recommended but the installation is not dangerous as found — a C3 on its own does not fail the report. The test when you are deciding between the two is simple: if the defect is potentially dangerous as it stands, it is a C2; if it is merely not best practice, it is a C3.

What makes an EICR unsatisfactory?

An EICR is UNSATISFACTORY if it contains any C1, C2 or FI observation. A report with only C3 (improvement recommended) observations and no C1, C2 or FI items is still SATISFACTORY. Where a landlord's report comes back unsatisfactory, the C1, C2 and FI items must be remedied or investigated within 28 days (or any shorter period stated in the report).