EICR due on a rental property? Send one inspection brief.

An EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) is a periodic inspection of the fixed electrical installation in a property: the consumer unit, fixed wiring, sockets, switches, light fittings, and earthing arrangements. It results in a satisfactory or unsatisfactory report, with any defects classified as C1 (danger present), C2 (potentially dangerous), C3 (improvement recommended), or FI (further investigation required).

It is not a PAT test (which covers portable appliances — see our PAT testing guide for landlords), not an EPC (energy performance), and not a gas safety check (CP12). Some electricians offer all of these in one visit; the EICR itself is a discrete piece of work with its own scope.

Under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, landlords must have a valid EICR (satisfactory result, or remedials completed) for every let property at least every 5 years and in place before a new tenancy begins. Existing tenants get a copy within 28 days of the inspection; new tenants must get one before they move in. Wales and Scotland have separate but broadly similar regimes. Local authorities can impose civil penalties of up to £40,000 for non-compliance.

An electrician can price an EICR more accurately when the brief states property type, approximate bedroom count, consumer-unit location, access route, whether the property is occupied, known age of wiring, number of outbuildings or communal areas, and whether remedials should be estimated separately if the report is unsatisfactory.

Same-scope matters because a cheap EICR can exclude certificate issue, parking, re-inspection or remedial pricing. FixQuotes asks each electrician to quote the inspection, certificate and any likely remedial assumptions in the same format so the landlord is comparing the job rather than just the headline number.

An EICR price is meaningful only when you know what's included. A £90 inspection from one electrician and a £160 inspection from another may not be comparing the same thing. Differences typically come from: time on site (a thorough EICR on a 3-bed flat is usually 2.5–4 hours of testing), the depth of sample testing (the regulations require 100% inspection of the fixed installation), whether the certificate fee is bundled, whether minor remedials (e.g., replacing a missing socket faceplate) are included on the day, and whether re-inspection after remedials is included or charged separately.

We ask every electrician to quote against the same scope, so the prices compare. Where remedials are anticipated (older wiring, mixed cable types, no RCD protection), we ask for an indicative remedial range — not a binding price, since that depends on what the inspection finds, but enough to budget against.

The cleanest moment is in the void between tenancies, where access is unrestricted and any C1 or C2 remedials can be completed without disrupting the tenant. If a tenancy is ongoing, give 24-hour written notice as required by Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985, and pick an electrician who can attend within a window your tenant can accommodate.

Don't wait until the certificate has expired. The 28-day notification window for remedials starts from the inspection date, not from the certificate expiry, and councils have been increasingly active on enforcement since the regulations came in.