What electrical safety checks do landlords need?

Who the rules cover

The rules are in the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, known as the 2020 regulations. They apply to private and social landlords in England where the tenant pays rent and lives in the home as their only or main home. Licences count as well as tenancies, and the rules cover houses in multiple occupation (HMOs).

Some lets are excluded, including:

• a lodger who shares a kitchen, bathroom or living room with you or your family
• long leases, and lets of 7 years or more
• student halls, and some hostels and refuges
• care homes, hospitals and hospices
• caravans, mobile homes and boats.

Wales and Scotland have their own rules.

An inspection at least every 5 years

Your main duty is to make sure the electrics meet the standards in BS 7671 (the IET Wiring Regulations) for as long as the home is let. The inspections are how you show it.

Every electrical installation in the home must be inspected and tested by a qualified person before a tenancy starts, then at least every 5 years, or sooner if the last report says so. The installation is the fixed wiring: the consumer unit, cables, sockets, switches and light fittings, and anything permanently connected, such as an electric shower or an extractor fan.

The inspector gives you a report, usually an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR). It must give the results and the date the next inspection is due.

A new tenancy doesn't always need a new inspection. GOV.UK's guidance says that if the last one was less than 5 years ago and the report doesn't call for further work, you give the new tenant a copy of that report instead. It still recommends a visual check before each new tenancy, to make sure nothing has been damaged since. A newly built or fully rewired home should have an Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC), which GOV.UK says covers the first 5 years in the same way.

Who gets a copy of the report

Keep the report until the next inspection is due or done, whichever is later.

If the report finds problems

If the report calls for remedial work or further investigation, you must have a qualified person carry it out within 28 days of the inspection, or sooner if the report says so. Then, within 28 days of the work being finished, send each tenant and the council the electrician's written confirmation, with a copy of the report. GOV.UK accepts a satisfactory EICR, an EIC or a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate as that confirmation.

Since Amendment 4 to BS 7671, a further investigation (FI) code no longer makes a report unsatisfactory. The draft amendment due on 30 November 2026 would take further investigation out of the 28-day duty, but reports from inspections done before that date would keep the old rule.

Sometimes the work can't be done in 28 days for a genuine reason, such as waiting for the energy supplier to fit an isolator before a consumer unit can be replaced. The 2020 regulations say you're not in breach if you can show you took all reasonable steps, so keep a record of what you arranged and when.

The same applies if a tenant won't let the electrician in. The 2020 regulations say you don't have to go to court to show you took reasonable steps, but keep copies of every attempt to arrange access.

Appliances you supply

The 2020 regulations don't require private landlords to test appliances they provide, such as a cooker, fridge or washing machine. A portable appliance test (PAT) at each change of tenant is a simple way to keep a record that you've checked them.

Social landlords must have each appliance they supply checked by a qualified person before each new tenancy and at least every 5 years, and keep a record of each check. If an item fails a check during a tenancy, they must tell the tenant immediately. They must then repair or replace it as soon as reasonably practicable, within 28 days at most.

For social tenancies granted before 1 December 2025, the first inspection and the first appliance checks had to be done before 1 November 2026. If yours weren't, arrange them now. The draft amendment due on 30 November 2026 would also mean an appliance check from the last 5 years doesn't need repeating before a new tenancy.

Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms

Separate rules, the Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarm (England) Regulations 2015, apply to private and social landlords. You must have:

• a smoke alarm on every storey with a room used as living accommodation, which includes a bathroom or toilet
• a carbon monoxide alarm in any room used as living accommodation that has a fixed combustion appliance, such as a boiler or a wood burner. Gas cookers don't count.

You must check the alarms work on the first day of each new tenancy. A renewal with the same tenant doesn't count as new. If a tenant reports an alarm as faulty, you must repair or replace it as soon as reasonably practicable. A council can impose a penalty of up to £5,000 if you don't comply with its notice to put things right.

Homes with an HMO licence or a selective licence are outside these regulations, because their licence conditions deal with alarms.

Licensed homes and shared areas

If the home needs a licence from the council, such as an HMO licence or a selective licence (a licence some councils require for private lets in parts of their area), the licence also requires every electrical installation to be in proper working order and safe, and you must give the council a declaration of that on request.

The 2020 regulations don't cover communal areas, such as the stairs and corridors in a block of flats. GOV.UK says councils can still take action over them under other law, such as the Housing Act 2004, and recommends that communal electrics are checked and maintained regularly. In England and Wales, emergency lighting and fire alarms in common parts come under the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005.

If you don't comply

If a council believes you've broken one of the main duties, such as having the inspection done or the work a report requires, it must serve a remedial notice giving you 28 days to put things right. You have 21 days to object to the notice in writing. If you don't comply, the council can arrange the work itself, with the tenant's consent, and recover the cost from you. Where a report says urgent action is needed and it hasn't been done, the council can arrange it, with the tenant's consent and 48 hours' notice. It can also fine you up to £40,000 for a breach.

Choosing an electrician

The 2020 regulations say the inspection must be done by a qualified person, meaning someone competent to inspect and test to BS 7671. GOV.UK points landlords to the Registered Competent Person Electrical register and Electrical Safety First's search for a registered electrician.

If your last report is more than 4 years old, book the next inspection early, so it's done before the due date even if access takes time to arrange.