The 28-Day EICR Remedial Rule: Practical Guide for London Landlords

The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 came into force in June 2020 for new tenancies and April 2021 for all existing tenancies. They require landlords to ensure the electrical installation is inspected and tested by a qualified person at intervals not exceeding 5 years.

Where the report identifies remedial or further investigative work, the regulations require this work to be carried out within 28 days, or sooner if specified by the inspector. Written confirmation of completion must be supplied to the tenant within 28 days and to the local housing authority within 28 days.

The clock starts on the date of the EICR — specifically, on the date the inspecting engineer signs the certificate as "unsatisfactory". Not the date you receive it, not the date you read it.

C1 (danger present) items have a different trigger: action is required immediately. In practice this means the inspector should isolate the danger before leaving the property (e.g. capping the dangerous circuit at the consumer unit) and you book the repair as soon as practicable.

C2 (potentially dangerous) and FI (further investigation) items run on the 28-day timer. FI items are slightly trickier: the further investigation itself must be commissioned and the resulting findings (whether confirming or clearing the FI) acted on within 28 days.

This part is widely missed. Regulation 4 requires the landlord to supply a copy of the report to the local authority within 28 days of receipt of a request from the local authority. Separately, where remedial work has been carried out, written confirmation of completion (with the supporting minor works certificate or new EICR) must be supplied to the local authority within 28 days.

Several London boroughs — Newham, Tower Hamlets, Hackney — now proactively request EICRs as part of selective licensing renewals or as part of complaint investigations. Failure to supply within 28 days of request is itself a breach.

A C2 item is "completed" when: the remedial work has been carried out by a qualified person, a minor works certificate (BS 7671 form 2) or new EICR has been issued covering the rectified items, and the original inspector has had the opportunity to verify (or the new certificate explicitly references the original EICR's findings).

Common failure mode: the landlord books "a different electrician" to fix the C2 items quickly. The new electrician issues an EIC for their work but does not reference the original EICR. Six months later, the original EICR still says "unsatisfactory" on file. To prove compliance the landlord needs a fresh full EICR — not just the minor works.

The clean approach: brief the new contractor that you need a follow-up letter or addendum specifically stating which C2 items from the named original EICR have been remediated, with reference to the date of remediation.

C2 codes are inspector judgement calls, and judgement varies. The clearest examples — missing earth bonding to a bath, broken main earth — leave no room for dispute. The fuzzier ones — Type AC RCD on a circuit serving a non-induction kitchen, plastic consumer unit in an integrated garage — get coded differently by different inspectors.

If you disagree, the formal route is to commission a second opinion EICR from a different registered contractor. If the second contractor agrees with you (codes the disputed item C3 rather than C2), you have evidence supporting your interpretation.

Avoid: arguing with the original inspector after the fact, asking them to "downgrade" a code, or simply ignoring the report. The first two leave a paper trail; the last is regulation-breach.

Do not engage contractors who advertise "guaranteed satisfactory EICR" or "we re-grade C2s". These are firms inviting trouble.

Within 28 days of the EICR being completed (and any remedial work being done), a copy of the latest EICR and any associated minor works certificate must be supplied to each tenant living in the property.

For a new tenancy: the EICR must be supplied before occupation. For an existing tenancy: within 28 days of inspection or remedial completion.

Tenant signature is not required by the regulations, but a record of supply (email timestamp, recorded delivery, signed receipt) is what defends a landlord against a "we never received it" claim during enforcement.

Local authorities issue Civil Penalty Notices for breaches. The standard band is up to £30,000 per breach, per property. Multiple breaches (no EICR + no remedial + no tenant notification) can stack.

In practice the first offence is often a £5,000-£10,000 penalty with a remedial action notice attached. Repeat offences and worst-cases hit the full £30,000. Newham and Hackney issue the highest volume of CPNs in London; the LGA published data shows over 200 EICR-related CPNs across the capital in 2024.

A CPN is also a published record — letting agent compliance databases pick them up, and they can influence future landlord licensing approvals.