04/12/2025
Important Update: New EICR Law Changes You Need to Know ⚡️
Big changes have just come into force on electrical safety for rented homes in England — if you rent out, manage, or live in a rented home, this matters!
📜 What’s new:
• The regulations under Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) (Amendment) (Extension to the Social Rented Sector) Regulations 2025 expand electrical safety duties, now covering social housing too — not just private rentals. 
• From 1 November 2025 for new tenancies (and by May 2026 for existing tenancies), all landlords — private and social — must ensure a qualified electrician inspects and tests fixed wiring and installations, and issues a valid Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR). 
• Any electrical appliances or equipment provided in the tenancy (by the landlord) must also be tested (sometimes called “PAT testing”). 
• If the EICR finds issues (like unsafe wiring), the landlord must complete remedial work — typically within 28 days after the inspection. 
• Landlords now face stronger accountability: local authorities have greater powers to enforce compliance, and the maximum fine for non-compliance has increased (for private rented properties) — meaning ignoring or delaying checks is riskier than ever. 
🏠 Why this matters for tenants & landlords:
• For tenants: this means your home should — soon — be subject to regular, mandatory electrical safety checks, including wiring and supplied appliances.
• For landlords / social-housing providers: compliance isn’t optional. You need to stay on top of inspections, testing, paperwork, and any required remedial work, otherwise you risk enforcement action.
• For everyone: these laws help reduce the risk of electrical faults, fires, or dangerous wiring — making rented homes safer overall.
⚠️ If you let or manage properties — now’s the time to act.
Check when your last EICR was done. If it was more than 5 years ago (or you don’t have one), book qualified electrical inspection as soon as possible. If you provide appliances, make sure they’re tested too. And make sure to keep the paperwork — tenants, other landlords, or local authorities may ask for it.