EICR Explained: What an Electrical Safety Certificate Costs in London and When You Need One (2026)
A clear 2026 guide to the EICR, the electrical safety certificate. What it covers, who legally needs one in London, what it costs, what the C1 to C3 codes mean and how to find a registered electrician.
Last updated: June 2026
An EICR, the electrical safety certificate properly called an Electrical Installation Condition Report, costs roughly £120 to £350 in London in 2026 for a typical home, and larger or central-London properties can cost more. Private and social landlords in England must hold a satisfactory EICR that is no more than five years old. For owner-occupiers it is recommended every ten years, but it is not required by law.
If you are a London landlord, the EICR is not optional and the penalty for going without one is now as high as £40,000. If you own and live in your home, it is the single best way to find out whether your wiring is safe before it becomes a problem. Either way, it is a job for a registered electrician, never a do-it-yourself task.
This guide explains exactly what an EICR is, who legally needs one, what it costs in London in 2026, what the result codes mean, what happens if your installation does not pass, and how to find a qualified local electrician to carry one out.
What is an EICR?
An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) is a formal report produced by a qualified electrician after a thorough inspection and test of a property's fixed electrical installation. It is sometimes called a periodic inspection report or a fixed wire test [3].
The inspection covers the permanent electrical infrastructure: the wiring, the consumer unit (the modern term for the fuse box), earthing and bonding, protective devices, sockets, switches and light fittings. It does not cover plug-in appliances such as kettles, laptops or washing machines, which are checked separately by appliance testing [3].
During the inspection the electrician looks for overloaded circuits, electric shock risks, fire hazards, defective work, and inadequate earthing or bonding [3]. The power is not switched off for the whole visit, because live testing is an essential part of establishing whether the installation is safe to keep using, though individual circuits may be isolated for specific tests.
At the end you receive the report itself, which lists any issues found, assigns each a classification code, and records an overall outcome of either satisfactory or unsatisfactory, along with a recommended date for the next inspection [3].
Do you legally need an EICR in London?
Whether an EICR is a legal duty or a strong recommendation depends entirely on who occupies the property.
| Who you are | EICR required? | How often |
|---|---|---|
| Private landlord (England) | Yes, by law | At least every 5 years [1] |
| Social landlord (England) | Yes, by law (new rules) | At least every 5 years [1][2] |
| Owner-occupier | No, recommended only | Every 10 years recommended [5] |
Private landlords in England have been legally required to have the electrical installation inspected and tested by a qualified person at least every five years since the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 came into force [1]. The duty applied to new tenancies from 1 July 2020 and to all existing tenancies from 1 April 2021 [1].
Social landlords were brought into the same regime by a 2025 amendment. The requirement applies to new social tenancies from 1 November 2025 and to existing social tenancies from 1 May 2026, with first inspections to be completed by 1 November 2026 [2][10]. This is one of the most significant recent changes to the rules, so social housing providers should treat 2026 as the year to get inspections booked.
Owner-occupiers are under no legal obligation. Electrical Safety First, the UK consumer charity for electrical safety, puts it plainly: "There is no legal requirement for people who own their properties to have the electrics checked." The same charity recommends that owner-occupiers have their installation checked at least every ten years [5]. A government consultation on extending the rules to owner-occupied leasehold flats was running in 2025, but as of June 2026 no decision has been confirmed [10].
How much does an EICR cost in London in 2026?
No official body publishes a fixed London price list, so the figures below are drawn from a consumer survey and trade cost guides, and should be treated as a guide rather than a quote. The consumer group Which? surveyed tradespeople in late 2025 and reported a UK-wide range of £100 to £330, noting that "prices are likely to be at the upper end of the scale if you live in London or the South East" [7].
For London specifically, a defensible 2026 range for a standard residential property is £120 to £350, with larger homes, houses in multiple occupation and central-London locations reaching £400 to £500 or more [9].
| Property size | Estimated London cost (2026) | Typical time on site |
|---|---|---|
| Studio or 1-bed flat | £120 to £180 | 1.5 to 3 hours |
| 2-bed flat or house | £150 to £220 | 2 to 4 hours |
| 3-bed house | £200 to £300 | 3 to 5 hours |
| 4-bed house | £250 to £350 | 4 to 6 hours |
| 5-bed or HMO | £350 to £500+ | 4 to 6+ hours |
Two things push the price up in the capital. The first is property size and complexity, because a larger installation has more circuits and accessories to test. The second is location, with central London (Zones 1 and 2) often carrying a modest surcharge over the outer boroughs for travel, parking and congestion charges [9]. Electrical Safety First gives a useful sense-check from an authoritative source, putting a typical EICR at "around £150 to £200" depending on property size [8].
Prices usually exclude VAT, and the cost of the report does not include any remedial work it recommends. Always get two or three quotes from registered electricians against the same property so you are comparing like for like.
What the EICR codes mean
Every issue an electrician finds is given a classification code. Understanding these codes is the difference between panicking over a report and reading it calmly, because not every code means your installation has failed.
| Code | Meaning | What it implies |
|---|---|---|
| C1 | Danger present, immediate risk of injury | Unsatisfactory, fix at once |
| C2 | Potentially dangerous | Unsatisfactory, fix urgently |
| C3 | Improvement recommended | Satisfactory, action optional |
| FI | Further investigation required | Unsatisfactory, investigate without delay |
A report is recorded as unsatisfactory if it contains any C1, C2 or FI code [1][6]. A C1 is the most serious, meaning a danger is present and there is a risk of injury, and an electrician will often make a C1 fault safe before leaving the property. A C2 means a fault is potentially dangerous and needs putting right urgently. An FI code does not necessarily mean a fault exists; it means something could not be confirmed during the inspection and needs further investigation to rule a fault out [6].
A report that carries only C3 codes, or no codes at all, is satisfactory. A C3 is a recommendation to improve something that is not in itself dangerous. Electrical Safety First is clear that "code C3 is a recommendation only and whilst ideally you should look into following the advice, it is not a requirement" [6]. A landlord whose report shows only C3 items has a passing certificate and no legal obligation to carry out the recommended work, although doing so is sensible.
What happens if your EICR is unsatisfactory?
An unsatisfactory result is not a disaster, but for a landlord it does start a clock. Where a report requires remedial work or further investigation, a landlord must complete that work within 28 days, or sooner if the report specifies a shorter period [1].
Once the work is done, the landlord must obtain written confirmation from the electrician that the installation now meets the standard, and supply that confirmation to the tenant and to the local council within 28 days [1]. A landlord cannot rely on an unsatisfactory report for the five-year cycle; a satisfactory follow-up is needed.
The remedial work itself varies enormously. A minor C2 might be a loose connection corrected in an hour. A more serious result can point to a tired consumer unit or ageing wiring. Replacing a consumer unit in a typical three-bedroom home costs in the region of £500 to £1,500 [7], a job we cover in detail in our guide to fuse box upgrade costs in London. Where the report reveals widespread deterioration, a partial or full rewire may be advised, and our house rewire cost guide for London sets out what that involves and what it costs.
Who can carry out an EICR?
An EICR must be carried out by a qualified, registered electrician who is competent in inspection and testing, and it cannot be self-certified by a homeowner [12]. The technical standard the work is assessed against is BS 7671, the IET Wiring Regulations. The current edition is BS 7671:2018 with Amendment 4, published on 15 April 2026, with the previous edition remaining valid until 15 October 2026 [13]. A competent electrician will be working to this standard, so it is a reasonable thing to ask about.
In practice you want an electrician registered with a government-recognised competent person scheme. The three best known are NICEIC, NAPIT and ELECSA (the National Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting, the National Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers, and ELECSA respectively). Each assesses electricians against BS 7671 before allowing them to certify their work [12].
You can verify a tradesperson's registration directly. NICEIC offers a "find a tradesperson" tool where you enter a postcode and the type of work, and Electrical Safety First runs a register that aggregates several schemes [12]. Checking the register before you book protects you from anyone offering a cut-price certificate without the qualifications to back it up. If you would like a wider checklist for vetting any tradesperson, our guide on how to find a trusted tradesperson in London walks through the steps that matter.
The penalty for landlords who skip it
For landlords, the cost of non-compliance dwarfs the cost of the inspection. A local housing authority can impose a financial penalty of up to £40,000 for breaching the regulations [2]. This figure was raised from £30,000 by the 2025 amendment, so any older article still quoting £30,000 is out of date.
The penalty is imposed by the council rather than a court, the authority has discretion over the exact amount up to the cap, and multiple penalties can be levied for continuing failures [2]. Set against an inspection that costs a few hundred pounds, the case for booking an EICR on time is straightforward.
EICR versus PAT test: what is the difference?
These two checks are often confused, but they cover different things. An EICR inspects the fixed installation: the wiring, consumer unit, sockets and light fittings that are built into the property. Appliance testing, still widely called PAT testing, covers plug-in appliances such as kettles, microwaves and laptops [3].
For a rented home, the EICR is the five-yearly legal duty on the landlord. Testing of any appliances the landlord supplies is a separate matter set by risk. The two are complementary, not interchangeable, and a satisfactory EICR says nothing about the safety of a faulty toaster.
Frequently asked questions
How often do I need an EICR? Private and social landlords in England must have one at least every five years, or sooner if the report specifies, and at each change of tenancy if the existing certificate has expired [1]. For owner-occupiers, Electrical Safety First recommends an inspection at least every ten years, though it is not a legal requirement [5].
Is an EICR a legal requirement? Yes for landlords in England. Private landlords have been required to hold one since 2020, and the same duty now applies to social landlords from 2025 and 2026 [1][2]. For owner-occupiers it is strongly recommended but not legally required, so you cannot be fined for not having one in your own home [5].
How long is an EICR valid for? An EICR is valid for up to five years, though the electrician can specify a shorter interval if the installation is in poor condition [4]. For rented properties the certificate must also be renewed at a change of tenancy if the existing report has run out. The report always states the recommended date for the next inspection.
What happens if my EICR is unsatisfactory? The report has returned an unsatisfactory outcome because it contains a C1, C2 or FI code. A landlord must complete the remedial work or further investigation within 28 days, or sooner if specified, then send written confirmation to the tenant and local council within 28 days [1]. A C1 danger is usually made safe on the spot.
What is the difference between an EICR and a PAT test? An EICR inspects the property's fixed electrical installation, meaning the wiring, consumer unit, sockets and light fittings. Appliance testing, often called PAT testing, checks plug-in appliances such as kettles and laptops [3]. They serve different purposes, so a property may need both, and one does not replace the other.
Do I need an EICR to sell my house in London? No. There is no legal requirement to provide an EICR to sell a property, although Electrical Safety First notes it gives a buyer reassurance that the home is electrically safe [11]. If notifiable electrical work was done without the right certificates, that can complicate a sale, so keep any certification you hold.
Find a registered electrician in London
An EICR is only as good as the electrician who carries it out, so the registration check matters more than the headline price. Find a trusted local electrician near you on loacally to compare verified local tradespeople, read reviews and request quotes in your borough. If the report points to bigger work, see our London guides to fuse box upgrade costs and house rewiring costs so you know what to expect before you commit.
Sources
- Gov.uk - Electrical safety standards in the private and social rented sectors: guidance - https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electrical-safety-standards-in-the-private-and-social-rented-sectors-guidance/electrical-safety-standards-in-the-private-and-social-rented-sectors-guidance - last updated 1 November 2025.
- Legislation.gov.uk - The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) (Amendment) (Extension to the Social Rented Sector) Regulations 2025 - https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2025/9780348273007/data.xht - in force 1 November 2025.
- Electrical Safety First - Periodic inspection explained - https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/find-an-electrician/periodic-inspection-explained/ - checked June 2026.
- Electrical Safety First - How long does an EICR last for? - https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/guidance/your-questions-answered/questions/how-long-does-an-eicr-last-for/ - checked June 2026.
- Electrical Safety First - I live in a privately owned property, how often do I have to get the electrics checked? - https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/guidance/your-questions-answered/questions/i-live-in-a-privately-owned-property-how-often-do-i-have-to-get-the-electrics-checked/ - checked June 2026.
- Electrical Safety First - Do I have to do anything if I have a C3 code on an EICR? - https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/guidance/your-questions-answered/questions/do-i-have-to-do-anything-if-i-have-a-c3-code-on-an-eicr/ - checked June 2026.
- Which? - How much do electricians cost? - https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/finding-a-tradesperson/article/how-much-do-electricians-cost-aMprj7d7XlSC - published 1 May 2026 (survey data November 2025).
- Electrical Safety First - How much does an EICR cost and who should I use to carry out the inspection? - https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/guidance/your-questions-answered/questions/how-much-does-an-eicr-cost-and-who-should-i-use-to-carry-out-the-inspection/ - checked June 2026.
- Total Skills UK - EICR cost guide - https://www.totalskills.co.uk/guides/eicr-cost-guide - last reviewed April 2026.
- Gov.uk - Government response: electrical safety in the social rented sector (social-sector extension and owner-occupier leasehold decision deferred) - https://www.gov.uk/government/calls-for-evidence/electrical-safety-in-social-housing-consultation-and-call-for-evidence/outcome/government-response-electrical-safety-in-the-social-rented-sector-proposals-to-extend-regulations - published 25 June 2025.
- Electrical Safety First - Is it a legal requirement to have an EICR carried out in order to sell my house? - https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/guidance/your-questions-answered/questions/is-it-a-legal-requirement-to-have-an-eicr-carried-out-in-order-to-sell-my-house/ - checked June 2026.
- NICEIC - Find a tradesperson - https://niceic.com/find-a-tradesperson/ - checked June 2026.
- IET and BSI - Amendment 4:2026 to BS 7671:2018 published - https://www.theiet.org/media/press-releases/press-releases-2026/press-releases-2026-april-june/15-april-2026-iet-bsi-officially-publish-amendment-4-2026-to-bs-76712018-iet-wiring-regulations - 15 April 2026.
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