Landlord electrical safety reports in Epping Forest and West Essex

What does the law ask of landlords?

The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 apply to most rented homes in England, and since 2025 they cover social landlords as well as private ones. They require the landlord to have the fixed electrical installation inspected and tested by a qualified and competent person at least every five years, to obtain a written report, and to act on it. The duty sits with the landlord, not the agent, although many agents arrange the inspections. The fixed installation means the wiring, the consumer unit, the sockets, the switches and the light fittings; the regulations do not cover plug-in appliances that the landlord supplies.

Which tenancies are covered?

Nearly all residential tenancies in England, including houses in multiple occupation, whether or not they are licensed, and homes let by councils and housing associations. The main exceptions are shared accommodation with the landlord or their family, leases of seven years or more, student halls of residence, hostels and refuges, care homes and hospitals, and mobile homes. If you let a converted flat, a room in a shared house or a cottage on your land, assume the regulations apply unless you have checked that they do not.

What is an EICR?

The report the regulations call for is an Electrical Installation Condition Report. The electrician inspects the installation and tests each circuit against the Wiring Regulations, BS 7671, and records any departures from the standard, each with a classification. Two of those, C1 for danger present and C2 for potentially dangerous, make the report unsatisfactory, as does FI, which means something needs further investigation before it can be classified. A C3 means improvement is recommended and does not on its own make the report unsatisfactory. The report also states when the next inspection is due, which can be sooner than five years if the electrician thinks the installation warrants it.

Who has to see the report, and when?

The deadlines in the regulations are specific:

• existing tenants must receive a copy within 28 days of the inspection
• new tenants must receive a copy before they move in
• a prospective tenant who asks for it must receive a copy within 28 days of asking
• the local housing authority must receive a copy within 7 days if it asks for one
• the landlord keeps a copy to hand to the electrician who does the next inspection

For the five towns this site covers, the local housing authority is Epping Forest District Council, apart from the part of IG7 that lies in the London Borough of Redbridge.

What if the report is unsatisfactory?

The landlord must have the remedial or investigative work carried out within 28 days of the inspection, or sooner if the report says so. Once it is done, the landlord needs written confirmation from the electrician that the work is complete and the installation now meets the standard, and must give that confirmation, with the original report, to the tenant and to the local authority within 28 days of the work being finished. A C1 item is normally made safe on the day, with your agreement, by isolating the circuit concerned. Keep every piece of paper, because councils can require evidence and can take enforcement action against landlords who do not comply.

Does the electrician have to belong to a scheme?

The regulations say the inspection must be done by a qualified and competent person. The government's guide for landlords explains how to check that, and it is worth reading before you book. Remedial work that is itself notifiable, such as a replacement consumer unit, falls under Part P of the Building Regulations and has to be certified in the usual way. Ask the electrician how they will show their competence and how any remedial work will be notified before you book.

What about smoke and carbon monoxide alarms?

These come under separate rules. Since 2015, with changes in 2022, private landlords in England must fit at least one smoke alarm on each storey used as living accommodation and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance other than a gas cooker, and must repair or replace an alarm once a tenant reports that it is faulty. An electrician can fit mains-powered, interlinked alarms while on site for the inspection, which is worth raising in the same enquiry.

What should the enquiry say?

• the address and the type of property, such as a converted flat or a three-bedroom house
• how many consumer units there are, and whether any outbuilding has power
• the date of the last report, with a copy if you have one
• whether the tenant will give access or you hold keys
• the date the report is needed by, for instance before a new tenancy starts
• whether alarms need fitting or replacing at the same time
• the property's postcode

With your agreement, the enquiry goes to one local electrician who covers the property's postcode, if one does. Where nobody does, we tell you and share nothing.