Do I need an EICR? A plain-English guide for landlords in Berkshire

If you let out a property in Slough, Windsor, Maidenhead or anywhere else in England, there's one piece of electrical paperwork you're legally required to have: an EICR. It's one of those things that's simple once you understand it, but genuinely worth getting right... the penalties for ignoring it are steep, and they add up.

Here's the plain-English version of what the rules actually say, who they apply to, and what you need to do.

What is an EICR?

EICR stands for Electrical Installation Condition Report. It's a thorough inspection of the fixed electrical installation in a property (the consumer unit, the wiring, the sockets, the switches, the earthing and bonding) carried out by a qualified electrician. At the end you get a report telling you, in clear terms, whether the installation is safe to keep using.

The report grades any problems it finds using standard codes:

• C1... danger present, risk of injury. Immediate action required.

• C2... potentially dangerous. Needs putting right urgently.

• C3... improvement recommended, but not dangerous. This doesn't fail the report.

• FI... further investigation needed.

A report comes back as either satisfactory or unsatisfactory. If there are any C1, C2 or FI items, it's unsatisfactory, and you have work to do. C3 items on their own don't fail it... they're advisory. You can read more about how the inspection works and what we check on our inspection and testing page.

The law, in one paragraph

Since the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 came in, landlords in England have had to make sure the electrical installation in every rented home is inspected and tested at least every five years by a qualified and competent person, and that it meets the required safety standard. The rules applied to new tenancies from July 2020 and to all existing tenancies from April 2021... so there's no "old tenancy" exemption any more. If you let property in England, this is you.

What you actually have to do

The regulations set out some specific deadlines, and this is where landlords most often slip up. Once you've had the EICR carried out, you must:

• Give a copy to your existing tenants within 28 days of the inspection.

• Give a copy to any new tenant before they move in.

• Give a copy to a prospective tenant within 28 days of them asking for one in writing.

• Give a copy to the local authority within 7 days if they request it.

• Keep the report and hand it to whoever carries out the next inspection, so they can see what's changed.

Then there's the renewal cycle: a fresh EICR at least every five years... or sooner, if your last report specified an earlier re-test date. Some reports do, particularly on older installations.

If the report is unsatisfactory

If your EICR comes back with any C1, C2 or FI items, you're required to have the remedial or investigative work carried out within 28 days... or sooner, if the electrician's report specifies a shorter period. After the work is done, you then need written confirmation that the installation now meets the standard, and you must supply that confirmation to your tenants and, if they've asked, the local authority.

The common trigger for remedial work is an ageing consumer unit that no longer offers adequate protection. If that's what your report flags, our guide to fuse box replacement explains what a modern upgrade involves and roughly what it costs... and because we're NAPIT registered, any notifiable work is certified and notified to Building Control on your behalf, so your paperwork is complete.

What happens if you don't bother

This is the part worth taking seriously. A local authority can impose a financial penalty of up to £40,000 for a breach of these regulations... the ceiling went up from £30,000 under the Renters' Rights Act, so the figure you may have seen quoted elsewhere is out of date. And crucially, each breach is a separate offence... so a landlord who fails to get an EICR and fails to provide the report to their tenants could be looking at more than one penalty for the same property.

Beyond the fine, there's the obvious risk: an unsafe installation can cause a fire or an electric shock, and as the landlord that's your responsibility. And if the worst happened, an insurer will want to see that you'd met your legal safety obligations. An up-to-date EICR is the document that proves you did.

Who can carry one out?

Not just anyone. The inspection has to be done by someone qualified and competent... which in practice means a registered electrician with the right inspection and testing qualifications, working to the current edition of the BS 7671 Wiring Regulations (the 18th Edition). It's worth checking that whoever you use is registered with a recognised competent-person scheme, such as NAPIT, rather than taking it on trust.

A local note for Berkshire landlords

We do a steady stream of landlord EICRs across our patch, and the pattern varies by area. Reading's large rental and HMO market keeps demand high there; the older terraces around Windsor and Maidenhead often throw up ageing wiring and undersized boards that need attention before a report will pass. If you've a property in one of those older streets, it's worth budgeting for the possibility of remedial work rather than assuming a clean pass. Our Maidenhead electrician page gives a flavour of the local housing stock we work with.

Whether you've one property or a small portfolio, you'll deal with the same registered electrician each time... handy when a job runs across a couple of visits or you want continuity across several homes.

If your five years are nearly up, or you've just taken on a rental and aren't sure where you stand, book an EICR or call us on +44 7722 132736 and we'll talk you through it. We're a family-run electrical business based in Slough, covering the Thames Valley.

This guide covers the rules in England and reflects the position as of 2026. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own arrangements.