EICR came back unsatisfactory: the 28-day remedial deadline, who gets copies, and the dates worked out

An electrical installation condition report (EICR) that comes back "unsatisfactory" does not stay in the inbox for long without consequences. The regulations give the landlord 28 days to get the work done, or less if the report says so, and then a further 28 days to hand proof to every tenant and to the council. A letting agent who manages the property is usually the person who has to make those dates happen.

This guide covers England. The rules are in the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, which have applied to every private tenancy covered by them since 1 April 2021.

Which codes need action

The inspector gives each problem a code. The GOV.UK guidance explains what each one means for the landlord:

A report with only C3 items is satisfactory. A single C1, C2 or FI makes it unsatisfactory and starts the clock.

The dates, worked through

Regulation 3 says remedial or investigative work must be done within 28 days, or the period in the report if shorter, "starting with the date of the inspection and testing". We count the inspection day as day one, which gives the earlier, safer date. The clock runs from the inspection, not from the day the report lands in your inbox, so a report that takes a week to arrive has already used a quarter of the time.

For an inspection on Tuesday 6 October 2026 that records one C2:

If the report sets a shorter period for a C2, say 14 days, the work deadline moves to Monday 19 October 2026. Read the report for a shorter period before you book anyone.

The council copy is the one most often missed. On a satisfactory report you send the council a copy only if it asks in writing, and then within 7 days. After remedial work you must send the confirmation and the report to the council without being asked.

What counts as proof

The regulations require written confirmation from a qualified person that the work has been done and that the installation now meets the standard, or that further investigation is needed. An invoice that says "replaced consumer unit" is weaker than a minor works certificate or a letter from the electrician that refers back to the codes on the report. Ask for that document when you book the job, so it arrives with the invoice and not three weeks later.

If the remedial work turns up something new that needs further investigation, the regulations require that investigation too, within 28 days or the shorter period given, and the same proof afterwards.

When the work cannot be done in time

Since the 2025 amendment, regulation 3 says a landlord is not in breach "if the landlord can show they have taken all reasonable steps to comply". The GOV.UK guidance gives examples: complex or specialist work, work that depends on a third party such as the energy supplier fitting an isolator before a consumer unit can be replaced, and tenant circumstances that need extra planning.

Reasonable steps have to be shown, which means a written record. Keep the dates you asked contractors for quotes, the date the supplier was contacted and any reply. If the tenant will not give access, the regulations say the landlord is not treated as failing to take reasonable steps only because they did not go to court to get in. The same approach as a gas check applies: dated requests, in writing, more than once. Our guide to gas safety access refusals has letters you can adapt.

New tenants and the five-year cycle

A new tenant must have a copy of the most recent report before they move in. If the last inspection was less than five years ago and the report needs no further work, GOV.UK says a new inspection is not required. A prospective tenant who asks in writing must get a copy within 28 days. Keep each report until the next one is due or done.

Put the next due date in the same calendar as gas and EPC. Our compliance date tracker works out each one, and the yearly renewals checklist shows where the EICR sits in a year of managing a property.

The penalty

The council can impose a financial penalty for each breach. The maximum in regulation 11 was £30,000 and is now £40,000, substituted by the 2025 amendment regulations and in force for private tenancies in full from 1 May 2026. The duties sit with the landlord; what the agency is responsible for is set by its management agreement, so check that the agreement says who books the remedial work and who sends the copies.

Where Overlyft fits

Overlyft can set up an AI assistant to read the code list on an uploaded report, draft the contractor request and the tenant letters, and put the four dates above on the property file for a person to check. It does not judge whether the electrics are safe or whether work is complete; the electrician and the agency decide that.

This is general information for England, not legal advice.