EICR certificate cost in the UK: what landlords pay in 2026

An EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) for a typical rented flat or house typically costs £100 to £300 in the published price guides we found in October 2026, though a few start lower. Size, number of circuits and location drive the price. A two or three bedroom house outside London usually falls between £120 and £250. London and the South East run higher.

This guide pulls those published figures together, explains what is and is not included, prices the remedial work that often follows, and sets out what the law asks of landlords in England. It also covers the points landlords tend to get wrong: who is actually allowed to sign the report, and how to spot a poor one before you pay for it. If you want the wider picture first, start with the electrical safety hub.

How much does an EICR certificate cost in 2026?

Strictly, an EICR is a report, not a certificate. People search for “EICR certificate cost” and “EICR cost” interchangeably, and so do many electricians, so we use both. What you are buying is an inspection and test of the fixed wiring, followed by a coded written report with a clear verdict: satisfactory or unsatisfactory.

We have not collected quotes ourselves. The figures below are published prices and ranges from four cost guides we read in October 2026: a national domestic services firm (Fantastic Services), a quote-comparison platform (MyJobQuote), a home-services booking platform (Housekeep) and a trade-business software blog (Trade2base). Treat them as guide prices, not offers. Different guides use different assumptions, and not all of them say whether VAT is included.

Published EICR prices by property size, outside London

One note on reading that table: the booking platform sits well below the others. That does not make it wrong, but it is a reminder to check exactly what a low price covers before you compare it with a higher one. MyJobQuote groups its figures into bands (2 to 3 bedroom flats and houses, 4 to 5 bedroom houses, 6 or more), so some cells show the band that applies.

For a worked example: a two-bed terraced house let to a couple, with one consumer unit and around eight circuits, lands between about £120 and £220 in most of the guides above, with the cheapest guide a good deal lower and none much higher than £250.

EICR cost in London and the South East

Every guide that separates regions says London and the South East cost more. Fantastic Services puts the premium at roughly 15 to 30 per cent over the North of England, Wales and Scotland. Trade2base says 15 to 25 per cent over Midlands and Northern rates, and Housekeep says at least 20 per cent. Typical published London and South East figures:

MyJobQuote gives a single London range of £200 to £400 for a domestic EICR, with larger or more complex properties at £500 or more. Fantastic Services also publishes fixed prices for work inside the M25: £168 for a one-bed, £183 for a two-bed, £210 for a three-bed and £236 for a four-bed at its standard rate, with an extra consumer unit at £55 and each additional circuit at £35.

At the bargain end, a specialist EICR provider advertises London prices from £79 for a studio flat, £99 for one or two bedrooms, £119 for three or four bedrooms and £149 for five or six, all tax inclusive and based on a single fuse box, with additional fuse boxes at £65 to £85 each. Headline “from” prices like these are a starting point. The number of consumer units, circuits and the state of access usually decide the final bill.

What affects the price of an EICR?

Property size matters mainly because it drives the number of circuits. Several guides say the circuit count is the real pricing unit. MyJobQuote cites about £10 to £30 per circuit for domestic work, and Trade2base describes a common pricing structure of £12 to £18 per circuit plus a site-visit fee of £60 to £80. A small flat might have five to seven circuits; a four-bed house could have twelve to sixteen.

• Number of consumer units. One consumer unit is usually assumed. A second board in a garage, extension or loft conversion adds cost, often £55 to £85 each according to the providers above.
• Access. Sockets behind furniture, boarded-in boards, loft-mounted equipment or cupboards full of belongings slow the job. Fantastic Services lists access as a price factor and Trade2base says poor access is a legitimate reason to charge more.
• Age and condition. Old wiring, outdated consumer units and signs of DIY work take longer to inspect. Trade2base suggests adding 30 to 60 minutes to the on-site estimate for pre-1966 wiring.
• HMOs and bigger buildings. More rooms, more circuits, more time. Trade2base lists an HMO of four to six bedrooms at £250 to £450 and a larger HMO of seven to twelve bedrooms at £450 to £800 or more.
• Timing. Housekeep notes that out-of-hours slots and same-day or next-day bookings usually carry a premium.
• Who you book through. Housekeep also notes that independent electricians often charge less than larger firms, and that an estate agent arranging the report may add a premium.

What is included in an EICR price, and what is not?

Fantastic Services and Housekeep give a consistent picture of what the fee normally buys: a visual inspection of the fixed installation, dead and live testing (including insulation resistance, earth fault loop impedance and RCD operation), checks on earthing and bonding, and a written report listing observations coded C1, C2, C3 or FI with an overall satisfactory or unsatisfactory outcome. Fixed equipment such as showers and extractor fans is normally within scope. Appliances such as fridges and freezers are not.

What is usually charged separately:

• Any repair or remedial work identified in the report.
• Consumer unit replacement or rewiring, if needed.
• A re-inspection or a new certificate confirming that remedial work has been done (Fantastic Services lists this as a separate charge).
• PAT testing of portable appliances, which is a separate check from an EICR.

That last point trips landlords up. If you supply a kettle, a washing machine or a fridge, a clean EICR says nothing about their safety. Our electrical safety hub explains where PAT testing fits and where it does not.

How much does remedial work cost after an EICR?

The inspection fee is often the smaller bill. If the report records a C1, C2 or FI observation, the work has to be done by a qualified person within 28 days (or sooner if the report says so). Costs depend entirely on what was found. MyJobQuote gives the following ranges for common fixes, and its separate consumer unit guide, updated on 1 October 2026, gives prices by size:

The same consumer unit guide puts a typical London job at £675, with a range of £550 to £800 or more, and says most replacements take four to eight hours. A single consumer unit swap, then, is a realistic worst case for a tidy modern flat, while a house with old wiring and signs of DIY work can move into the thousands. Fantastic Services makes the same point: simple fixes are cheap, but a failed consumer unit or widespread faults “can run into hundreds or thousands” of pounds.

Replacing a consumer unit is also notifiable work under Part P of the Building Regulations in England (see Approved Document P), which is another reason to use a registered electrician who can self-certify the job.

Who can carry out an EICR? Can any electrician do it?

Not any electrician, in the sense that matters. The regulations say the inspection and testing must be done by a “qualified person”, and the 2025 amendments define that as someone competent to carry out the inspection and testing and any follow-up work under the electrical safety standards. The government guidance describes a qualified person as “a person competent to undertake the inspection and testing”. It does not name a mandatory register or scheme.

In practice, competence is shown by evidence. Electrical Safety Roundtable guidance for landlords, launched in June 2025, says to look for an inspector registered with a full-scope electrical competent person scheme or registration body that assesses their competence regularly, plus public liability and professional indemnity insurance, relevant qualifications and experience. The government guidance points landlords to the Registered Competent Person Electrical register, the Electrical Safety Roundtable and the Electrical Safety First electrician finder as places to start.

Scheme operators you will come across include NICEIC (operated by Certsure LLP) and NAPIT, both on the government list of authorised competent person scheme operators. Those schemes are principally about self-certifying building work, so do not assume it automatically covers inspection and testing. Ask the electrician whether they are registered for periodic inspection, and ask to see their registration number and insurance. A registered inspector is a strong sign, not a legal requirement in itself.

How do you avoid a cowboy EICR?

A bad report is worse than none, because it gives you false comfort and a piece of paper that will not survive scrutiny from a council officer. Electrical Safety First’s Best Practice Guide 4 (Issue 7.4, August 2026) sets out what a decent report should look like. A few checks follow directly from it:

1. Look for the extent and limitations. A report must state how much of the installation was inspected and tested, any limitations, the reasons for them and who agreed to them. The guide notes that the greater the limitations, the lower the value of the report. If whole circuits were “not tested” with no good reason, ask why.
2. Check that every code has a matching observation. Each C1, C2, C3 or FI in the schedules should have a corresponding written observation saying what the defect is.
3. Be wary of vague wording. The guide calls minimal descriptions such as “poor” and superficial statements such as “recommend a rewire” unacceptable, because they do not describe the real condition.
4. Expect the inspector to act on danger. If something is immediately dangerous (an exposed live part, say), the guide says the client should be told at the time and in writing, and the inspector should make it safe where they can.
5. Check the verdict follows the codes. If any observation is C1 or C2 the overall outcome must be unsatisfactory. If there are none, the guide says it would not be reasonable to call the installation unsatisfactory.
6. Do not lean on the inspector. The guide says an inspector’s judgment should not be unduly influenced by the person ordering the work. A tester who promises a pass before they arrive is not one to hire.
7. Check the next inspection date. The report must give the date of the next inspection. A report without one does not meet the regulations.

Our guide to EICR codes C1, C2, C3 and FI explains how to read the observations. To find a registered electrician in your area, use our professional finder.

What does the law require of landlords in England?

The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 apply to private landlords in England. The 2025 amendments, which extended the same rules to social landlords, came into force on 1 November 2025, and the government guidance now covers both sectors. The duties applied to new tenancies from 1 July 2020 and to existing tenancies from 1 April 2021. For a private landlord, the core duties are:

• Make sure the electrical safety standards (BS 7671, the Wiring Regulations) are met while the property is let.
• Have the installation inspected and tested by a qualified person before a tenancy starts and then at least every five years, or sooner if the report says so.
• Get a report that gives the results and the date of the next inspection.
• Give a copy to existing tenants within 28 days of the inspection, to a new tenant before they move in, and to a prospective tenant within 28 days of a written request.
• Give the local council a copy within 7 days of its written request.
• Keep the report until the next inspection and hand a copy to the next inspector.
• Where the report requires investigative or remedial work, have a qualified person complete it within 28 days (or sooner if the report says), then give tenants and the council written confirmation within 28 days of completion.

The rules cover houses in multiple occupation as well as single lets. They do not cover shared accommodation with the landlord or the landlord’s family, long leases (including shared ownership), student halls, hostels and refuges, care homes, hospitals and hospices, and a few other categories. A landlord is not in breach if they can show they took all reasonable steps to comply. A tenant refusing access is a typical example, and the regulations say a landlord need not start court proceedings just to prove reasonable steps.

What are the fines for not having an EICR?

The council enforces the regulations. If it has reasonable grounds to believe a landlord is in breach, it can serve a remedial notice, and the government guidance says it can arrange urgent remedial work itself with the tenant’s consent after at least 48 hours’ notice. It can also impose a financial penalty of up to £40,000. The 2025 amendments raised the maximum from £30,000, though you will still see £30,000 quoted in older guides. The penalty procedure differs for breaches before and after 1 May 2026 (the Housing and Planning Act 2016 and the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 respectively). The landlord has 28 days to make representations before a penalty becomes final and can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber).

The financial case for doing it properly is simple. A report costing £150 to £250 is a rounding error next to a penalty running to tens of thousands of pounds, and the paperwork is easy to produce when a council officer asks for it. Our renewal calendar keeps track of when yours is due, and the landlord certificates checklist shows how the EICR fits alongside gas safety, EPC and alarms.

Do Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have different EICR rules?

Yes. The regulations above apply only in England. The other nations also require five-yearly electrical checks, but the details, and the cost of getting it wrong, differ.

Fantastic Services says London and the South East run 15 to 30 per cent above the North of England, Wales and Scotland, so a Scottish or Welsh property will usually price at the lower end of the tables above. If you let in Scotland, remember that the landlord-supplied appliances are in scope too, which affects what you should budget for.

How long does an EICR take, and does it check every socket?

Fantastic Services puts a flat at one to two hours and a typical house at two to four hours, with larger or older properties taking longer. NICEIC says a small domestic property may take a few hours. You will usually need the power off for part of the visit, so tell your tenant in advance, give notice as your tenancy agreement requires and agree a time that suits them.

Does the inspector test every socket? The honest answer is that the report states what was covered. Electrical Safety First’s guide says every report must record the extent of the inspection and testing and any limitations, with reasons. Some things cannot be inspected at all. The guide notes, for example, that it is usually impracticable to inspect cables concealed in the fabric of the building. So expect the whole installation to be in scope unless the report says otherwise, and read the limitations section before you file the report away.

For how long the report then stays valid, see how long an EICR lasts.

How do you get a fair price for an EICR?

• Get two or three written quotes for the same scope: number of consumer units, circuits, any shed or garage supply, and whether the price includes VAT and the report.
• Ask what happens next. A good quote says how remedial work is priced and whether a re-inspection or confirmation certificate costs extra.
• Book early. Last-minute and out-of-hours slots cost more, and an overdue report can mean a gap in compliance.
• Bundle across properties. Fantastic Services notes that multiple units can reduce the per-property cost. Landlords with several flats should ask for a portfolio price.
• Be wary of the very cheapest quote. A price far below the field may reflect a rushed inspection or a report with heavy limitations.
• Keep the paperwork. Store the report, the written confirmation of any remedial work and the proof you sent them to tenants.

This guide explains the rules as published on 30 October 2026; for a specific property, check with your local council or a qualified professional. If you would like quotes from local electricians, the form below takes a couple of minutes.