EICR: what the codes mean and what a landlord must do next

An electrical installation condition report — an EICR — is the inspection of a property’s fixed electrical installation by a qualified person, recording its condition and any departures from the current standard. In the English private rented sector it must be obtained at least every five years, and a copy given to tenants and, on request, to the local authority.

The document itself is a report, not a certificate of compliance. What decides whether the landlord has met the duty is the outcome recorded on it and what happens afterwards — an unsatisfactory report with no remedial work is worse than no report at all, because it is documented knowledge of a defect.

EICR codes and what they mean

• C1 — danger present, risk of injury: immediate action required. The inspector should make it safe at the time.
• C2 — potentially dangerous: urgent remedial action required.
• C3 — improvement recommended: not a failure, and it does not make the report unsatisfactory.
• FI — further investigation required: treated as making the report unsatisfactory until resolved.
• A report carrying any C1, C2 or FI is unsatisfactory; a report with only C3 items is satisfactory.

That last line resolves the most common confusion. C3 items are recommendations, and a landlord who treats them as mandatory pays for work that was never required — while one who ignores a C2 has an outstanding legal duty regardless of how the report reads overall.

What has to happen after an unsatisfactory report

1. Have the remedial work carried out within the period the regulations specify — commonly 28 days, or sooner if the report states a shorter period.
2. Obtain written confirmation from the person doing the work that the remedial action was completed.
3. Supply that confirmation, with the original report, to the tenants and to the local authority within the required timescale.
4. Keep both documents until the next inspection, and give a copy to any new tenant before occupation.
5. Diary the next inspection date from the report, not from memory.

The obligation to supply the report is part of the duty, not administration around it. A landlord who obtained the EICR, fixed the faults and never sent the paperwork to the tenants has still not complied — and that is a documentation failure that costs money for no safety benefit. Keep it with the gas and right to rent paperwork so the property file is one place.

Who can carry one out

A qualified and competent person: in practice a registered electrician with the right qualifications and experience for the installation type. Competence is the landlord’s responsibility to check, and membership of a competent person scheme is the usual evidence.

Ask what the report will cover before booking. A limited inspection with a high proportion of items marked as not verified is cheaper and less useful, and the limitations section is where that becomes visible — it is worth reading before the invoice rather than after.

Ettex Records keeps the report, the remedial confirmation and the dates it was supplied to tenants against the property, with the next inspection date attached, so the five-year cycle is a scheduled obligation rather than a rediscovery. The inspection and the judgements in it belong to the electrician, and the requirements differ across the UK — check the rules for the country the property is in.