Navigating the New EICR Landscape: What Landlords and Letting Agents Must Know

The regulatory landscape for electrical safety in rental properties is undergoing changes. With updated guidance and more stringent requirements for both the private rented sector (PRS) and the social housing sector, it’s time for landlords, letting agents, and compliance teams to take action. At Inventory Base, we believe that staying ahead of these changes isn’t just about avoiding penalties – it’s about elevating operational best practice, protecting asset value and building reputation.

What’s Changing and Why It Matters Now

The key policy update comes via the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) (Extension to the Social Rented Sector) Regulations 2025 (the Amendment Regulations) which expand the existing PRS regime into the social rented sector and introduce sharper duties across both sectors. Among the headline changes:

• Electrical installations (via an EICR – Electrical Installation Condition Report) must be inspected and tested at least every five years by a qualified person.
• Landlords must supply a copy of the report to the tenant (in existing tenancies within 28 days; for new tenancies before occupation) and retain records until the next inspection or test date.
• For social landlords (and registered providers) only: electrical equipment provided under the tenancy (fixtures, fittings, appliances) must undergo in‐service inspection and testing (ISIT, formerly PAT‑testing) on at least a five‑year cycle.
• A higher ceiling for financial penalties (up to £40,000) for non‑compliance; plus a statutory “reasonable steps” defence for landlords (i.e., evidencing you have taken all reasonable steps to comply).
• The timing: the Regulations come into force from 1 November 2025 for new tenancies; for tenancies granted before 1 December 2025 in the social sector the obligations apply from 1 May 2026; complete compliance on all installations and equipment expected by 1 November 2026.

Why now? Because this convergence of regulatory pressure, industry expectation and political momentum (post‑Grenfell Tower fire and the Awaab Ishak child‐mortality case) means electrical safety is moving firmly from best practice to mandatory duty in both PRS and social housing.

Implications for Operational Practice

For landlords, letting agents and compliance teams, the changes translate into four key operational shifts:

1. Stronger documentation and audit trail

If a five‑year inspection cycle is mandated, you must hold and produce: the previous EICR, the date of next inspection, evidence of remedial works done, copies supplied to tenants and copies available for local authority on request. The Regulations now explicitly require retention of the report until the next inspection or test. Many processes still rely on spreadsheets, manual follow‑ups and fragmented filing. This creates risk when access is requested or when multiple tenancies are in play across a portfolio.

2. Access management and tenant engagement

The “reasonable steps” defence means you must evidence your efforts to gain access – communications with the tenant, attempts to schedule inspection, follow‑up letters, maybe legal proceedings when access is refused. For social landlords, given the new appliance‑testing obligations, tenant cooperation becomes even more critical.

3. Portfolio‑wide planning and risk stratification

Five‑year cycles are now fixed. That means you need a clear schedule of when each property’s next inspection is due, what the last report flagged (C1/C2 codes), and how to prioritise remedial works – especially in older stock or high‑risk buildings. The guidance reminds landlords that an EICR showing C1 or C2 means the installation is unsatisfactory for continued use and must be addressed. For social landlords, managing both installation and equipment checks will require layered scheduling.

4. Systematisation of inspection and remedial workflows

The Regulations require remedial work or further investigation to be completed within 28 days (or sooner if the report mandates). If you have hundreds of units, juggling inspections, remedial contractors and tenant communications manually becomes a bottleneck and risks non‑compliance.

Why This Is Urgent for Your Business

For landlord organisations, housing associations, institutional investors and large‑scale letting agents, this is not a compliance tick‑box exercise. It’s about asset protection, risk mitigation and brand integrity. Failure to align with the new standard can mean:

• A financial penalty ranging up to £40,000 per breach and potential reputational damage.
• Reduced asset value if electrical safety issues persist and lead to enforced remedial works or insurance implications.
• Engagement risks: tenants increasingly expect transparency, access to reports and evidence of proactive maintenance.
• For social landlords and registered providers, increased regulatory oversight and potential escalation to enforcement action if residents’ safety is compromised.

For our clients using Inventory Base, this is the perfect time to embed the electrical safety workflow into your digital operations: inspection scheduling, certificate uploads, tenant communication logs, remedial work tracking and reporting dashboards.

How Inspection Software Can Help You Streamline Compliance and Operational Efficiency

At Inventory Base we designed our platform to support exactly this kind of compliance‑driven operational need. Here’s how:

• Automated scheduling and alerts: Set inspection cycles (e.g., five years) per property, receive reminders as next inspection due approaches, and ensure no instalment falls off the radar.
• Document centralisation: Store EICRs, ISIT (equipment test) records, tenant receipt logs and remedial work confirmations in one accessible system. This simplifies record retention and retrieval for tenants, authorities or internal audits.
• Tenant communication tracking: Log attempts to gain access, track responses and evidence compliance with the “reasonable steps” duty.
• Remedial work management: Link inspection findings to contractor workflows, deadlines (e.g., 28 days) and tenant notifications to ensure visibility across the full compliance lifecycle.
• Portfolio‑level visibility: Use dashboard views to filter by inspection due date, risk code (C1/C2/C3), remedial status or outstanding documentation – ideal for operators managing large portfolios across the PRS or social housing sectors.

The extension of electrical safety obligations marks a significant shift in how landlords and letting agents must operationalise risk, maintenance and data management. Whether you manage PRS stock, social housing properties or a mixed portfolio, these changes demand process maturity, clear documentation and effective systems.

With Inventory Base as part of your infrastructure you can transform what might feel like a compliance burden into a structured, resilient, data‑driven workflow that supports both safety and performance. Start now – schedule a review of your inspection cycles, assess where documents are stored, map communication trails with tenants and prepare your operation for the November 2025 / May 2026 milestones.