Certificates & safety
What is an EICR for a rented property?
An EICR is an Electrical Installation Condition Report recording the condition of a property's fixed electrical installation. Landlords in England must have one and provide copies to tenants.
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<img src="https://propertyoptix.co.uk/glossary/eicr/diagram.svg" alt="EICR — diagram from PropertyOptix" width="880" height="620" loading="lazy">
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<a href="https://propertyoptix.co.uk/glossary/eicr">What is an EICR for a rented property?</a> — diagram by
<a href="https://propertyoptix.co.uk">PropertyOptix</a>
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</figure>The report classifies observations by severity. Codes indicating danger or potential danger require remedial work within a set period, and evidence that the work was done must be supplied to the tenant and, on request, to the local authority.
A report is not automatically satisfactory. An unsatisfactory EICR that has been filed without the remedial work being done leaves the landlord in breach while holding a certificate, which is a common and dangerous misreading.
The requirements differ across the UK nations. A landlord with property either side of a border cannot assume one procedure covers both.
What goes wrong in practice
- An unsatisfactory report treated as compliance because a certificate exists.
- Remedial work completed with no written confirmation supplied to the tenant.
- Copies not given to new tenants at the start of a tenancy.
- Reports tracked by the contractor rather than by the landlord, so expiry passes unnoticed.