EICR checker: is your EICR valid, and when is the next one due?
This free EICR checker reads the report you already have. Enter the inspection date and the codes on it, and it tells you whether the EICR is still in date, when the next inspection is due, and every deadline that follows: the tenants’ copies, the remedial work, the written confirmation. England, Wales and Scotland.
Luke AshtonFounder of Bricky Bot and Based Lettings · Updated EICR checker
In date: book the next one now
Covers you to 13 January 2027: 82 days left. Book the next one by 21 October 2026.
Report: satisfactory (C3 alone needs no work).
Copy of the report to every tenant
11 February 2022 (passed: do it now if it isn’t done) · Within 28 days of the inspection (reg. 3(3)(b))
Copy to a new tenant
Before they move in (reg. 3(3)(e))
Copy to the council if it asks in writing
Within 7 days of the request (reg. 3(3)(c))
Next inspection and test due
13 January 2027 · No more than 5 years after this one
Worked out in your browser: nothing you enter is sent anywhere. Five years are counted from the inspection day, so the last day is the day before the fifth anniversary. A guide, not legal advice: the report and the regulations decide.
The short answer
- A rented home needs an EICR at least every 5 years, or sooner if the report gives an earlier date.
- C1 or C2 = unsatisfactory. In England the work must be done within 28 days of the inspection (or sooner if the report says), and confirmed in writing to the tenants and the council within 28 days of finishing. FI must be investigated in the same time. C3 needs nothing.
- There is no public EICR register. The landlord holds the report and must give tenants a copy; fines in England go up to £40,000.
How the EICR checker works
Everything comes from the report itself. You need three things from it:
- The date of the inspection. The 5 years run from this day, not from when you received the report. The checker counts the 5 years as a period beginning with that day, so the last covered day is the day before the fifth anniversary: the safe reading in all three nations.
- The “next inspection” date, if there is one. Electricians may recommend a shorter interval for an older installation or a house with lots of turnover. If the report’s date is earlier than 5 years, that is the deadline in England, Wales and Scotland. If it is later, 5 years still applies.
- The codes. Each observation on the report carries a code. The checker turns them into the outcome and the dated deadlines for your nation, and tells you when to book the next one: 12 weeks ahead by default, which is long enough to get an electrician in and finish any remedial work before the old report runs out.
It runs in your browser: no address, no sign-up, nothing sent anywhere. Put in the date the work was finished and it moves on to the confirmation deadline.
What the codes on an EICR mean
These are the classifications the government guidance uses (GOV.UK, Electrical safety standards in the private and social rented sectors, 1 November 2025):
| Code | Meaning | What the landlord must do |
|---|---|---|
| C1 | Danger present. Risk of injury. | Remedial work. The electrician may make it safe before leaving; in Scotland the work is immediate. |
| C2 | Potentially dangerous. | Remedial work: 28 days in England, or sooner if the report says. |
| FI | Further investigation required without delay. | Investigation by a qualified person in the same 28 days; repeat if it finds more work. |
| C3 | Improvement recommended. | Nothing required. The report can still be satisfactory. |
An unsatisfactory report doesn’t start a new 5 years once the work is done: the original inspection date still sets the next one. What you add is the electrician’s written confirmation that the work is finished and the installation now meets the standard.
The deadlines, by nation
| England | Wales | Scotland | |
|---|---|---|---|
| How often | No more than 5 years, or the report’s earlier date | Valid 5 years, or to the report’s earlier date | No more than 5 years |
| Copy to tenants | 28 days after the inspection; new tenants before they move in | 14 days from the occupation date or the inspection | New tenants before the tenancy starts |
| C1, C2, FI work | 28 days from the inspection, or sooner if the report says | No day count; any date the report gives | C1 immediately; C2 rectified |
| Proof of the work | Written confirmation to tenants and council within 28 days | Written confirmation to contract-holders within 14 days | Not set as a day count |
England
The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, regulation 3, as amended from 1 November 2025 (when they were also extended to social housing):
- Inspected and tested “at intervals of no more than 5 years”, or by the earlier date the report requires, and before a new tenancy starts unless a report is already in place.
- A copy of the report to each existing tenant within 28 days of the inspection; to a new tenant before they move in; to a prospective tenant within 28 days of a written request.
- A copy to the council within 7 days of a written request. Keep the report until the next one, and give it to the next inspector.
- Further investigative or remedial work within 28 days, or the shorter period in the report, starting with the date of the inspection.
- Written confirmation of the work, with the report, to each tenant and to the council within 28 days of finishing it.
If a tenant won’t let the electrician in, a landlord who has taken “all reasonable steps” isn’t in breach, and doesn’t have to go to court for access to show it (regulation 3(2A) and (2B)). Keep the letters and messages. Otherwise the council can serve a remedial notice, arrange the work and recover the cost, and impose a penalty of up to £40,000 (regulation 11).
Wales
Under the Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022, regulation 6, there must be a valid electrical condition report during each period of occupation. It is valid for 5 years beginning with the inspection date, or until the earlier date it gives. Each contract-holder gets a copy within 14 days of the occupation date (or of a later inspection), and written confirmation of any work within 14 days of you receiving it. If you don’t comply, the home is treated as unfit for human habitation. The regulation sets no number of days for the remedial work itself, so the checker shows any date the report gives; otherwise do it promptly.
Scotland
The Repairing Standard statutory guidance (Annex D3) asks for an EICR at intervals of no more than 5 years, a copy for a new tenant before the tenancy starts, C1 work carried out immediately and C2 rectified. Appliances the landlord provides need checking too, and the consumer unit needs RCD protection.
Can you check an EICR online?
Not by address. There is an EPC register you can search, but no equivalent for EICRs, so any site that claims to look one up for you can only tell you what the landlord has given it. In practice:
- Tenants get the report from the landlord: within 28 days of the inspection, or before moving in. If it doesn’t come, ask in writing, then the council’s private housing team.
- Landlords and agents check the report they hold: the dates and codes (the checker above), the extent and limitations section (rooms not accessed are listed there), and whether the electrician is on a competent person scheme register.
- Buyers of a tenanted house ask the seller for the current report and any remedial confirmations. An old report with open C2s is the buyer’s problem on day one.
EICRs in an HMO
A shared house has one installation and many tenancies, which changes the work more than the rules:
- Every tenant gets the copy. Six rooms on six agreements means six tenants to send it to within 28 days, and the next new tenant gets it before they move in. Note the date you sent each one.
- The electrician needs every room. Give each tenant notice, book a day that suits most of them, and keep a record of anyone who refused access: that record is your “all reasonable steps”.
- A C2 in the shared kitchen is a whole-house job. It can’t wait for the room that reported it, and the 28 days started on the inspection day, not the day you read the report.
- The licence may ask for it too. Many councils ask for the current EICR with an HMO licence application, so keep it with the gas safety record and fire alarm certificates.
When a tenant moves in mid-cycle, the report goes in the welcome pack with the tenancy agreement and inventory. Our free tenancy agreement template and landlord inventory template cover the other two.
Every certificate date in one place
The checker handles one report. Across a portfolio, the hard part is the dates: one house’s EICR, another’s gas safety record, a licence renewal, each on its own cycle. Bricky Bot is an AI lettings team for landlords, built by an HMO operator, and it keeps those dates for you:
- EICR is a built-in certificate for every house, valid 5 years, with the renewal opened 12 weeks before it’s due (you can change that per house).
- When the electrician emails the report, Bricky files it against the house; anything unclear is flagged for a person to check.
- Marking a report unsatisfactory (C1, C2 or FI) opens a repair job for the remedial work and keeps the renewal open until the new certificate is in.
- New tenants’ welcome emails attach the gas, EICR and EPC certificates, and nothing is sent until you approve it.
What it doesn’t do yet: count down the 28-day remedial deadline or the 28-day copy to tenants. That’s what the checker above is for. See the whole grid in our landlord compliance reporting app, how repair jobs run in landlord maintenance software, and the rest of the house in HMO management software.
Checking a specific house?
For HMO feasibility on a real address (licensing, Article 4, comparables), try Bricksmart’s HMO report. Bricksmart is our sister product and is free to start.
Questions landlords ask
How do I check if my property has an EICR?
Ask the landlord or agent for the latest Electrical Installation Condition Report. In England they must give every tenant a copy within 28 days of the inspection, give a new tenant one before they move in, and give a prospective tenant one within 28 days of a written request. Then put the inspection date and codes into the checker above.
Can you check an EICR online? Is there an EICR register?
No. Unlike the EPC register, there is no public register of EICRs, so you can’t look one up by address. The report comes from the landlord. What you can check online is the electrician: the competent person schemes publish registers of their members. A council can demand the report in writing, and the landlord has 7 days to send it.
Is an EICR valid for 3 years or 5 years?
For a rented home, at most 5 years. The electrician can set an earlier date on the report (often for an older installation), and then that date is the deadline. A report that gives a later date than 5 years doesn’t extend it: the regulations cap the interval at 5 years.
Can a landlord be fined for not having an EICR?
Yes. In England a council can impose a financial penalty of up to £40,000 for a breach of the duties in regulation 3, and more than one for a continuing failure (regulation 11, as amended from 1 November 2025). Where it believes the duties are breached, the council must also serve a remedial notice requiring the work within 28 days (regulation 4).
Do I need a new EICR for every new tenant?
No. If the last inspection was under 5 years ago and the report needs no further work, give the new tenant a copy before they move in. GOV.UK recommends a visual check between tenancies. A new or fully rewired home’s Electrical Installation Certificate counts for the first 5 years.
What do C1, C2, C3 and FI mean on an EICR?
C1: danger present, risk of injury (the electrician may make it safe before leaving). C2: potentially dangerous. FI: further investigation required without delay. C3: improvement recommended. Any C1 or C2 makes the report unsatisfactory and the remedial work is required; FI must be investigated too. C3 alone still counts as satisfactory.
How much does an EICR cost?
It depends on the size of the property and how many circuits the installation has, so a six-bed HMO costs more than a one-bed flat. Get a fixed quote that says whether it includes making C1 hazards safe on the day, and keep the remedial work as a separate quote.
Does an HMO need an EICR?
Yes. The regulations apply to houses shared by people who aren’t one household, and each room let on its own agreement is a tenancy, so every tenant in the house gets a copy. Many councils also ask for the current EICR with an HMO licence application.
Never chase a certificate date again
Bricky Bot is an AI lettings team for HMO landlords: enquiries, WhatsApp, repairs, compliance and rent, with nothing sent until you approve it.
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