Landlord EICR fines: what councils can do

Councils can impose a financial penalty of up to £40,000 on a landlord who breaches the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020. They can also serve a notice requiring the work to be done, or arrange the work themselves and recover the cost from you. The maximum penalty rose from £30,000 on 1 November 2025.

The council’s powers at a glance

What counts as a breach

Examples include:

• not having the installation inspected and tested before a new tenancy starts and at least every five years (or sooner if the report says so);
• using someone who isn’t a qualified person to do the inspection;
• not giving existing tenants a copy of the report within 28 days, or new tenants a copy before they move in;
• not giving a prospective tenant a copy within 28 days of a written request;
• not sending the report to the council within 7 days when it asks in writing;
• not completing remedial work or further investigation within 28 days of the inspection (or the shorter period in the report);
• not sending written confirmation of that work, with the report, to tenants and the council within 28 days of finishing it.

How a financial penalty works

1. Notice of intent. The council tells you it intends to impose a penalty, how much and why.
2. Representations. You have 28 days to make written representations — your chance to explain what happened and what you’ve done since.
3. Final notice. The council decides whether to go ahead and how much to charge. If it does, it serves a final notice.
4. Appeal. You can appeal to the First-tier Tribunal within 28 days of the final notice. The tribunal can confirm, cancel or change the penalty.

The “all reasonable steps” defence

The regulations say a landlord isn’t in breach of their duties if they can show they took all reasonable steps to comply. The most common example is a tenant who repeatedly refuses access. The defence only works with evidence, so keep:

• copies of letters, emails and texts asking for access, with the dates you offered;
• notes of missed appointments and what the tenant said;
• your agent’s records, if they arranged access for you.

Keep trying after a refusal. The defence is about all reasonable steps, not just the first one.

A worked example

A landlord lets a one-bed flat through an agent. The EICR runs out while the tenant is living there, and nobody notices. The council receives a complaint and asks, in writing, for a copy of the current report. The landlord has 7 days to provide it — and can’t, because there isn’t one.

The council can now serve a remedial notice and consider a financial penalty. The landlord books an inspection straight away, sends the report to the tenant and the council, and completes the remedial work the report asks for within 28 days of the inspection. Putting it right quickly can’t undo the missed inspection, but it stops the breach continuing — and it’s what the landlord will need to show in any representations.

If you receive a notice from the council

1. Check the deadline. A remedial notice gives you 28 days to do the work; a notice of intent gives you 28 days to make written representations.
2. Get the work moving straight away. Book the inspection or the remedial work, and make sure you’ll get written confirmation when it’s done.
3. Gather your evidence. Reports, the dates you sent copies to tenants, records of access attempts and invoices.
4. Reply in writing before the deadline, explaining what happened and what you’ve done since. Keep a copy.
5. Take advice if you think the notice is wrong. A final notice can be appealed to the First-tier Tribunal.

Other consequences

• Licensing. A valid EICR is commonly a condition of HMO and selective licences, so a missing report can also be a licensing breach. Check your borough on our area pages.
• The landlord register. London’s part of the new private rented sector database is planned to open on 15 July 2027, and each property entry is expected to need the current EICR and its expiry date.
• Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms. A separate set of rules — a smoke alarm on every storey with living accommodation and a carbon monoxide alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance (except a gas cooker) — carries its own penalty of up to £5,000. See our smoke and heat alarm installationservice.
• Social landlords. Since 1 December 2025 the same electrical safety duties apply to social landlords.

Common mistakes that lead to enforcement

• Assuming the agent has it covered. The regulations put the duties on the landlord, so check your agency agreement says who books the inspection and sends the paperwork.
• Letting the report run out between tenancies. A new tenant needs a valid report before they move in.
• Treating the council copy as optional. Written confirmation of remedial work must go to the council, not just the tenants.
• Missing an FI on an older-format report. It makes the report unsatisfactory, so the 28-day rule applies.
• Keeping no records. Without dates and copies, you can’t show what you did.

How to stay compliant

• Diary the next inspection date from your current report, and book well before it’s due.
• Record when each tenant received their copy.
• Act on C1, C2 and any further investigation within 28 days of the inspection — see unsatisfactory EICR: what happens next.
• Send the confirmation to your tenants and the council within 28 days of finishing the work.
• Check your licence conditions and your borough’s scheme.

Our guide to EICR for landlords sets out every duty in one place, and HMO electrical safety covers the extra licensing points for shared houses.

Key points

• Penalties go up to £40,000, raised from £30,000 on 1 November 2025.
• Councils can also serve remedial notices, arrange the work themselves and recover the cost.
• You can make representations and appeal to the First-tier Tribunal.
• Taking all reasonable steps is a defence — but only with evidence.

Book your landlord EICR

The simplest protection is a current report. We arrange access with your tenant or agent, test every circuit to BS 7671 and email you the report as a PDF, ready to pass on. See our landlord EICR service, see your price — including VAT — before you book, or call us on 07301 010244.