How long is an EICR valid for?

For rentals, up to five years, though the report can specify a shorter interval for older installations. For owner-occupied homes, ten years or change of occupancy is the common guidance.

Does an old fuse box automatically fail an EICR?

No. Age is not a code. An old board with sound circuits can pass, though missing RCD protection on the relevant circuits is a frequent C2. The test results decide, not the calendar.

Who can issue an EICR?

A qualified, competent electrician, typically registered with a scheme such as NICEIC or NAPIT. Ask which scheme, and you can verify membership on the scheme's own register.

What happens if a landlord ignores the rules?

The council can arrange the work itself and bill the landlord, alongside financial penalties of up to £40,000. The tenant can also request the report at any time.

EICR certificates explained

An EICR is a written inspection and test report on a property's fixed wiring, graded satisfactory or unsatisfactory with coded findings. Landlords in England legally need one at least every five years; buyers increasingly ask for one too. In Teesside it costs £120 to £200.

Get Quote

What the report covers

An Electrical Installation Condition Report is an MOT for the fixed wiring: the consumer unit, circuits, earthing and bonding, sockets, switches and fixed equipment. The electrician inspects visually and tests with instruments: insulation resistance, earth fault loop impedance, RCD trip times, polarity. The result is a multi-page schedule with each observation coded, and an overall outcome of satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

The codes, translated

C1, danger present: a live risk right now, such as exposed live parts. The electrician should make safe on the spot, and the report is unsatisfactory.
C2, potentially dangerous: not an immediate threat but urgent: no RCD protection on socket circuits used outdoors, degraded cable, missing bonding. Unsatisfactory.
C3, improvement recommended: below current standard but not dangerous. The report stays satisfactory; these are the plan-for-later items.
FI, further investigation: something could not be fully verified and needs digging. On its own it makes the report unsatisfactory until resolved.

Who legally needs one

Under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, private landlords must have the installation inspected at least every five years, give the report to existing tenants within 28 days and to new tenants before they move in, supply it to the council within seven days if asked, and complete remedial work within 28 days of an unsatisfactory result (or faster if the report says so). Local authorities can issue financial penalties of up to £40,000. There is no equivalent legal duty for owner-occupiers, but a recent satisfactory EICR answers the wiring question on a sale, and some insurers and lenders ask for one on older properties.

After an unsatisfactory report

Read the coded schedule, not just the headline. A common Teesside pattern on 1960s semis is a C2 for missing RCD protection with otherwise sound PVC cable: cleared by a consumer unit upgrade for £450 to £750, not a rewire. Missing gas and water bonding is a cheap half-day line. Damaged accessories are pocket money. Where the codes describe degraded cable across multiple circuits, that is the case for a rewire, and the report is the evidence for it. Either way, remedial quotes should itemise against the code list so you can see exactly what each pound fixes. For pricing, see the EICR service page, and the rewire cost guide covers the bigger scenario.