EICR Cost UK 2026: Price, Fine + Remedial Works

What Is an EICR and Why Do Landlords Need One?

If you let a home in England, you need an EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) at least every five years, and it helps to know the cost before you book. The EICR is a formal inspection of all the fixed electrical wiring, consumer units, sockets and fittings in the property. It has been a legal requirement for new private tenancies since 1 July 2020, and for every tenancy since 1 April 2021.

A qualified electrician inspects every element of the fixed electrical installation and grades each observation:

• C1: Danger present. Immediate action required.
• C2: Potentially dangerous. Remedial work required within 28 days.
• C3: Improvement recommended. Not legally required, but good practice.
• FI: Further investigation required.

An EICR is unsatisfactory if it contains any C1, C2 or FI observations. You must carry out the remedial work and get written confirmation from the electrician.

How Much Does an EICR Cost?

Costs vary depending on property size, age and location. Here are typical 2026 prices:

• 1-bedroom flat: £100 to £150
• 2-bedroom house: £150 to £200
• 3-bedroom house: £180 to £250
• 4+ bedrooms: £250 to £350+
• London premium: Add 20 to 40% to the above

Additional remedial work (if C1 or C2 observations are found) is charged separately, and the cost depends entirely on what the electrician finds.

How to find a qualified electrician: the regulations require a qualified and competent person. Membership of a scheme such as NICEIC, NAPIT or Stroma is a quick way to check.

What Happens If Your EICR Expires?

This is where landlords get into serious trouble. The consequences of a lapsed EICR are significant:

1. Fine of up to £40,000 per property

Local housing authorities actively enforce EICR compliance. The maximum civil penalty is £40,000.

2. It does not block a Section 8 claim (but the fine stands)

The EICR was never one of the Section 21 requirements (and Section 21 itself ended on 1 May 2026). It was never a Section 8 precondition either, so a Section 8 possession claim is not barred by a lapsed EICR. It remains a breach carrying the £40,000 penalty above, so renew it on time regardless.

3. Local authority can carry out the work

If you fail to act, the local authority can arrange for the remedial work to be done, and recover the cost from you.

4. Prohibition notice

In serious cases, a prohibition notice can prevent tenants from occupying part or all of the property.

How Often Does an EICR Need to Be Done?

Every 5 years, or more frequently if the previous report recommended it. Some older properties with aging wiring may be recommended for more frequent inspection.

When you purchase a property with an existing tenancy, always request the latest EICR. If it's missing or out of date, arrange one immediately.

Important: An EICR is different from a periodic Portable Appliance Test (PAT test). PAT tests cover moveable appliances like kettles and washing machines. EICRs cover the fixed installation. You may need both.

Where the report should live

The inspection is the easy part. What costs landlords money is the five years afterwards, when the report is a PDF in an old email and the expiry date is in nobody's head.

In LetCompliance the report sits against the property, with its expiry, the remedial invoices and the proof you sent it to the tenant. It carries 20 points of the property's 0–100 compliance score, so an out-of-date report shows up next to your compliant properties rather than staying invisible. If the council asks for it in writing, you have 7 days to send it, and it's two clicks rather than an afternoon in your inbox.

While the property is let, the same login handles the rest: the advert, the applications and the referencing when it's empty, then rent collection by Direct Debit and a repairs log, so the electrician's remedial invoice is filed against the property too.

What happens if the report comes back unsatisfactory

The inspection fee is only half the budget. An EICR is unsatisfactory if it records any C1, C2 or FI observation, and that starts a clock.

You must have the remedial work done within 28 days, or sooner if the report specifies a shorter period. You then need written confirmation from the electrician that the work is complete, and you must supply it to the tenant within 28 days and to the local authority within 28 days of completion.

Typical remedial costs, on top of the inspection:

• Replacing a damaged socket or switch: £60 to £120
• Adding RCD protection or a new consumer unit: £400 to £700
• Rewiring a circuit: £300 to £600
• Full rewire on an older property: £3,000 to £6,000

A C3 is different. It means "improvement recommended": it doesn't make the report unsatisfactory, and you're not legally required to act on it. Sensible landlords still note them, because today's C3 is often next inspection's C2.

The five-year cycle, and when you actually need a new one

The requirement is an inspection at least every five years, or more often if the report itself specifies a shorter interval. Some electricians recommend three years on older installations, and if the report says so, that shorter period is the one that binds you.

A change of tenant does not reset the clock, and it does not require a fresh EICR. What it does require is giving the new tenant a copy of the existing report before they move in. Existing tenants get a copy within 28 days of a new inspection.

Diary the expiry date the day the report arrives. The most common way landlords end up non-compliant isn't refusing to do it. It's a five-year gap nobody was tracking.

The cost of not having one

The civil penalty for breaching the electrical safety regulations is up to £40,000 per property, and a local authority can also arrange remedial work itself and recover the cost from you.

Worth being precise about the possession angle, because older guides get it wrong. Many guides said an out-of-date EICR invalidated a Section 21 notice. It was never one of the Section 21 requirements, and Section 21 ended on 1 May 2026 anyway. The EICR was never a Section 8 precondition, so a lapsed report does not by itself bar a possession claim. What it does do is hand a tenant material for a disrepair counterclaim and make you look careless on any discretionary ground.

The £40,000 is the reason to keep it current. Set against £150 to £250 every five years, it is not a close call.

Choosing an electrician, and why the cheapest quote often is not

Anyone carrying out an EICR must be competent and, in practice, registered with a recognised scheme such as NICEIC, NAPIT or ELECSA. Ask for the registration number and check it.

Two things separate a good report from a cheap one. A thorough inspector will lift a proportion of accessories and test circuits properly rather than doing a visual walk-round, and they will explain each observation rather than handing you a coded list. A report that comes back with an implausibly long list of C2s, from a firm that also quotes for the remedials, deserves a second opinion.

A worked budget for a three-bed house: £180 to £250 for the inspection, and on an installation over about twenty years old, budget £300 to £700 for likely remedials on the first inspection. After that, subsequent five-yearly reports are usually clean and cost the inspection fee alone.