EICR Inspections for Rental Properties in Sunderland

An Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) is a formal inspection of the fixed electrical installation in a property. For privately rented homes in England the report is generally required at least every five years, or sooner if the report recommends it.

EICRs are carried out by properly qualified electrical contractors. SLC arranges the booking, collects the returned report and helps you keep it organised.

Fixed wire testing, periodic inspection and testing, hard wire testing and landlord electrical safety certificate all describe the same piece of work as an EICR. The inspection covers the fixed installation in the property: the consumer unit, the circuits, the earthing and bonding, the accessories and the fixed equipment. The document produced at the end of it is the Electrical Installation Condition Report.

The terminology varies mostly by trade habit rather than by scope, so if a contractor quotes you for fixed wire testing and another quotes you for an EICR, they are quoting for the same inspection. This is the report landlords of privately rented homes in England are required to hold, renewed at intervals of no more than five years, with a copy provided to tenants and to the local authority on request. Every inspection is carried out by a qualified electrical contractor working as an independently qualified subcontractor.

Both the EICR and portable appliance testing are carried out by the same qualified electrical contractor, so combining them means one appointment, one access arrangement with your tenant and one invoice. Access is usually the hardest part of arranging either piece of work.

PAT testing covers landlord-supplied appliances only, not the tenant's own equipment, and the EICR covers the fixed installation. Neither replaces the other. A combined EICR and PAT starting price is published on the price guide, and there is more detail on PAT testing for landlords and HMOs.

EICRs are often arranged alongside a Gas Safety Certificate, EPC.

Under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS), electrical hazards are a recognised hazard category. A satisfactory EICR evidences the condition of the fixed installation and supports this area of the broader HHSRS assessment. See our HHSRS landlord guidance for the wider context.