The EICR time bomb: your first mandatory electrical report may have expired already

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The EICR time bomb: your first mandatory electrical report may have expired already

The first wave of compulsory electrical safety reports is now hitting its five-year expiry date, and renewing them in 2026 comes with a new sting in the tail, courtesy of the Renters’ Rights Act.

When mandatory electrical checks landed on the private rented sector back in 2020, they were the talk of the Property118 readership, our coverage of the new rules and the Electrical Safety Installations Act 2020 drew hundreds of comments from landlords trying to work out what they actually had to do, and by when.

Five years on, that “by when” has come back around. The Electrical Installation Condition Reports (EICRs) that landlords rushed to obtain in 2020 and 2021 are valid for a maximum of five years, which means a huge cohort of them are expiring right now (or may have already expired), through 2025 and into 2026. If you got yours done to beat the original deadline, it’s time to check the expiry date on page one.

A reminder of where the rules came from

The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 required every landlord in England to:

• have all fixed electrical installations inspected and tested by a qualified person at least every five years;
• ensure a satisfactory EICR was in place for new tenancies from 1 July 2020, and for all existing tenancies by 1 April 2021;
• supply the report to existing tenants within 28 days, to new tenants before they move in, and to the local authority within 7 days of a written request;
• carry out any remedial or further investigative work flagged as C1, C2 or FI within 28 days (or sooner, if the report says so).

When the regulations were first introduced, landlords faced penalties of up to £30,000 for non-compliance. Following amendments that came into force in late 2025, local authorities can now impose financial penalties of up to £40,000.

Why this matters again now

Two things have put electrical safety back on the agenda. First, the maths: a property first certified in spring 2021 needs re-testing by spring 2026. The “one-off” job many landlords ticked off five years ago is now a recurring obligation, and a lapsed EICR is exactly the kind of paperwork gap a local authority, or a tenant’s solicitor, will seize on.

Second, the rules have just been extended to social housing. From this month, social landlords face mandatory five-year checks of their own, backed by fines of up to £40,000. As Steven Devine of Electrical Safety First put it, with “more than half of accidental domestic fires across England caused by electricity,” the direction of travel is only towards tighter enforcement, not looser.

What’s changed since your last report

Don’t assume a renewal will be a formality just because you passed last time. The standard EICRs are assessed against (BS 7671) has moved on, with Amendment 2 of the 18th Edition in force since 2022. Practical consequences landlords are seeing on re-inspection include:

• Tighter coding. Inspectors are increasingly classifying older installations as C2 (“potentially dangerous”), which makes the whole report unsatisfactory and triggers the 28-day remedial clock.
• Arc Fault Detection Devices (AFDDs) now recommended for higher-risk premises such as HMOs.
• EV charge points and heat pumps adding load to consumer units that were never designed for them.
• Rising costs and patchy availability of qualified engineers in some regions, so booking early matters.

The Renters’ Rights Act twist: getting through the front door

Here’s the part that’s genuinely new. To carry out the inspection, you need access — and from 1 May 2026, Section 21 ‘no-fault’ evictions have been abolished under the Renters’ Rights Act. The blunt instrument some landlords once relied on to deal with a tenant who repeatedly refused entry is gone.

The good news is that the original 2020 regulations anticipated this: a landlord is not in breach if a tenant prevents access, provided they can show they took “all reasonable steps”, and the rules are explicit that you are not required to take legal action to force entry. The catch is evidential. If a tenant stonewalls you, the  burden is now firmly on you to document every attempt, letters, emails, texts, offered appointment dates, so you can prove reasonable steps to the council if  challenged. With no-fault possession off the table, that paper trail is your protection.

What to do now

1. Dig out your EICR and check the expiry date on every property — prioritise anything certified in 2020 or 2021.
2. Book renewals early, especially in areas where qualified engineers are stretched.
3. Budget for remedial work — coding standards have tightened, so a clean pass last time is no guarantee.
4. Keep your distribution trail: report to tenants within 28 days, to the council within 7 days of a request.
5. Log every access request in writing — your defence if a tenant refuses entry now that Section 21 has gone.

Five years ago this was a brand-new obligation that caught thousands of landlords on the hop. The difference now is that there’s no “first time” excuse left, and a lapsed certificate now sits alongside a much tougher enforcement and possession regime.

Over to you:

Have your renewal EICRs come back with new C2 codes that passed last time?

How are you handling tenants who won’t grant access now that Section 21 is gone?

Share your experience in the comments.

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Landlords given clarity on reforms as Renters’ Rights Act takes effect

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Landlords given clarity on reforms as Renters’ Rights Act takes effect

The government has given landlords further information on notice periods and rent paid in advance under the Renters’ Rights Act, which came into force on 1 May 2026.

In response to a written parliamentary question, Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook clarified how tenancies where rent is paid in advance are being treated under the new periodic tenancy system.

The news comes as industry experts warn the reforms could cause disruption in the student rental market.

Cannot be longer than one month

In a written question, Liberal Democrat MP Joshua Reynolds asked how the rental period of converted assured periodic tenancies would be determined for notice purposes where rent had been paid in advance in non-monthly instalments, and whether guidance would be issued on setting and revising payment dates.

In response, Housing Minister Matthew Pennycook confirmed tenancy and rent periods cannot exceed one month, with longer or irregular arrangements moving to monthly cycles.

He said: “From 1 May, under the Renters’ Rights Act, the tenancy and rent periods of an Assured Periodic Tenancy must be the same and cannot be longer than one month.

“Where a transferring periodic tenancy was mid-period on 1 May 2026, the tenancy will have transferred across to the new tenancy system, but the new period structure will not apply until the period in progress is completed.

“Once transitioned, the tenancy would retain the period length, as long as this was one month or below. If the period length was longer than one month (including irregular periods) the tenancy will automatically change to monthly periods once the period straddling the 1 May has completed.”

Tenants can end tenancy by providing two months’ notice

He added: “Tenants can end the tenancy by providing at least two months’ notice and aligning that notice to expire at the end of a period. If the landlord agrees in writing, or if there is a shorter notice period already included in an existing tenancy agreement, then the tenant can give less than two months’ notice.

“Under the act, tenancies with a fixed term that transitioned on 1 May 2026 will now have monthly tenancy periods.”

Mr Pennycook added more support was available on the government website to help landlords and tenants.

As previously reported by Property118, university students could quit tenancies early under the Renters’ Rights Act.

Many university students who study humanities have no lectures in the summer term, and that the period between April and June is used for revision, exams and submitting final essays.

If students hand in their notice in May, they could finish their contracts in July, rather than August or September.

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Government launches PRS data drive to track Renters’ Rights Act impact

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Government launches PRS data drive to track Renters’ Rights Act impact

The government has announced a new data collection strategy to monitor the private rented sector (PRS).

In a policy paper published by the government, ministers said the strategy is intended to assess how the Renters’ Rights Act will affect the PRS following the legislation coming into force.

The data will also monitor the PRS Database and the PRS Ombudsman.

How reforms are landing in practice

The government claims the core principles of the data will be underlined by understanding the problems renters face and evaluating the impact of legislative changes.

The paper explains: “To deliver the ambition of a fairer, safer and more secure PRS, it is important that the department is able to see clearly how the sector is functioning, how reforms are landing in practice, and how renters, landlords, agents and local authorities are experiencing change on the ground.

“Achieving this requires development in the quality, coherence and transparency of the data we collect, use and share.”

“Our vision is to establish an integrated PRS data system that enables robust, timely and granular insight.

“Where appropriate, the department will publish PRS data to support transparency and enable government, Parliament, researchers and other stakeholders to better understand how the market is operating and how reforms are shaping behaviours and outcomes.”

Identify pressures emerging in the tribunal system

The government have also announced it will introduce systems to monitor data on First-Tier Tribunal cases.

The government explains: “His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service is ensuring that robust data about private rented sector cases in the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), including applications to challenge a rent increase, can be collected and monitored.

“These data sources will enable the department to monitor how disputes, possession activity and rent challenges are changing over time, identify pressures emerging in the tribunal system, and assess whether reforms are improving access to justice and fairer outcomes in the private rented sector.”

The news comes after the government admitted it does not know how long the rent appeals system takes to process cases, raising concerns the Tribunal could be flooded with challenges now the Renters’ Rights Act has come into force.

Potential to provide useful information

The government add they will also use the PRS Database and the PRS Ombudsman to collect and monitor data.

The policy paper says: “We anticipate that we will begin collecting operational, administrative and management data through the PRS Database during Phase 2 of implementation of the Renters’ Rights Act.

“Over time, the database has the potential to provide a useful additional source of information on the private rented sector, including the size and distribution of PRS properties, patterns of ownership, selected property characteristics, and some aspects of compliance and enforcement, subject to the final scope of data collected and data quality considerations.

“In addition, linking property data from the PRS database using UPRNs could allow cross-referencing to other sources of property information such as the English Housing Survey to provide a more holistic picture of a property.”

The government adds: “The Ombudsman will provide a dedicated redress service for private rented sector tenants. They will publish annual reports to highlight emerging trends and issues across the sector.

“This will help embed lessons learned from real complaints, promote consistent standards, and set clear expectations for good practice across the sector.”

Findings of an evaluation of the act will be published in May 2028 and May 2031.

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