Does a new-build home need an EICR?

Not straight away. A newly built home should come with an Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC), which confirms the wiring was designed, installed, inspected and tested to BS 7671 when it was built. An EICR is the check for an installation that’s already in use. So for a new build, it becomes useful later: when you let the home more than five years after the EIC, when you buy it from its first owner, when the recommended inspection date comes round, or when something doesn’t seem right.

The paperwork a new build should come with

Ask for these with your handover documents:

• The Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC), with its schedules of inspections, circuit details and test results. The certificate says it’s only valid with those schedules.
• Building Regulations sign-off for the electrical work — a compliance certificate if a registered installer did the work, or a completion or final certificate from building control.
• Information for using and maintaining the installation, such as labels on the consumer unit and RCDs, and any user instructions.

The EIC guidance says that if the person who ordered the work isn’t the owner — a developer, for example — they should pass the certificate, or a full copy including the schedules, to the owner straight away. If yours is missing, ask the developer, or ask your conveyancer to chase it.

Keep the EIC somewhere safe. The certificate itself says it should be shown to anyone inspecting or working on the installation in the future.

EIC or EICR: what’s the difference?

The EIC guidance is explicit: it “can not be used for the inspection and testing of an existing electrical installation” — that needs an EICR. More in EICR, EIC, Minor Works or PAT.

When a new build does need an EICR

You’re letting it out

The government’s guidance for landlords says that if a home is newly built or has been completely rewired, it should have an EIC, and the landlord can give a copy to tenants — and to the council if asked. The landlord then won’t need further checks for five years after the EIC was issued, as long as they’ve met their other duties under the regulations.

The five years run from the date the EIC was issued — not from when you completed or when your first tenant moved in. If you bought off-plan, the EIC may be dated months before you got the keys, so check it.

After that, the normal rule applies: an EICR at least every five years. If you bought off-plan to let, diary the fifth anniversary of the EIC now. See our landlord EICR service and EICR for landlords.

You’re buying a new build from its first owner

Electrical Safety First recommends an inspection before buying a previously occupied home. The EIC tells you how the installation was when it was built; it can’t tell you about extra sockets, garden lighting, an EV charger or a kitchen upgrade added since, each of which should have its own certificate. The property information form the seller completes (the TA6) asks about electrical work and certificates, and whether the property has an EICR. See EICRs when selling or buying.

The recommended date comes round

Every EIC states the maximum time before the first periodic inspection. For a home you own and live in, industry guidance suggests every ten years, so a new build’s first EICR is often due around its tenth year — sooner if the EIC gives an earlier date.

Something doesn’t seem right

New homes can have faults too. If an RCD keeps tripping, sockets or switches are loose, lights flicker or you notice a burning smell, stop using anything that looks unsafe and report it to the developer while the home is still within its defects period. An independent EICR gives you a clear, coded record of what’s wrong.

You’ve added to the installation

New circuits — for an EV charger, a garden office or a loft conversion — need their own EIC, and adding a new circuit is notifiable building work that has to be signed off. If work was done without certificates, an EICR is a sensible check on the whole installation.

Letting a new-build flat

Your duty as a landlord covers the installation inside your flat. Government guidance says the 2020 regulations don’t apply to communal areas such as stairwells and corridors; the building’s shared electrics are usually looked after by the freeholder or management company, as the lease sets out.

Check the electrics when you move in

A few simple checks help you spot problems while the developer can still put them right:

• press the test button on each RCD — it should switch off, and you switch it back on;
• check every socket, switch and light works;
• make sure the consumer unit’s circuits are labelled;
• look for anything loose, cracked or warm, and any burning smell.

Report problems to the developer in writing, and keep a copy.

Your new build and the landlord register

If you let a new-build home, the private rented sector database planned under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 is expected to ask for the current EICR — or EIC — and its expiry date. For London, the register is planned to open in July 2027. Know which document covers your property, and when it runs out.

What an EICR on a newer home involves

The same steps as any other: a visual inspection of the consumer unit, wiring and fittings, then tests on every circuit — see what an EICR checks. A newer installation still gets a full report, with the next inspection date and every observation coded, so you have an up-to-date record for tenants, buyers or your own peace of mind.

The wiring regulations have been updated several times since 2018, most recently in April 2026, so even a fairly new installation can pick up a C3 (improvement recommended). A C3 doesn’t make the report fail — see EICR codes explained.

Key points

• A new build should come with an EIC, plus Building Regulations sign-off for the electrical work.
• An EIC isn’t an EICR: it certifies new work, not the condition of an installation in use.
• Landlords can rely on the EIC for five years after it was issued; after that they need an EICR at least every five years.
• Buying a new build from its first owner? An EICR shows what’s changed since the EIC.
• For a home you live in, the first inspection is usually due within ten years.

Book an EICR for your new-build home

We test every circuit to BS 7671 and email you the report as a PDF, with every code explained in plain English. Prices start at £90 inc VAT (£75 + VAT) for a studio to two-bedroom flat with one consumer unit, and nothing is booked until we call to confirm. Get your price, see our homeowner EICR service, or call 07301 010244.