Can I rent my property without an EICR in London in 2026?

The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 apply to the rented housing they cover. On 3 October 2026 they are in force as amended in 2025. They are not a single rule for an owner-occupied home, a shop, or the common parts of a block.

A missing report on a let dwelling is a question about that landlord's inspection duty. It is not, by itself, a statement that a penalty has been imposed.

• Private rented dwelling in England: the inspection, the report, and any further work the report requires sit under the regulations for a specified tenancy.
• Social rented housing in England: the 2025 amendment extended the regulations. Do not copy a private-landlord timetable onto a social landlord without reading the provision that applies.
• Owner-occupied home: these rented-housing duties do not apply merely because someone lives there. A buyer or a lender may still ask for a report. That is a transaction request, not this duty.
• Shop or other commercial premises: these regulations do not decide that premises. A different dutyholder regime can apply.
• Common parts of a block: the flat and the stair, riser or plant are different installations. A flat report does not describe the common parts.

The practical step is to arrange the inspection and test, keep the report, and give the copies the regulations require. Inventing a date, or letting and hoping the inspection can wait, does not meet the pre-tenancy limb.

Parliamentary approval of the draft 2026 electrical-safety amendment was completed on 20 October 2026. Approval, formally making the instrument and its coming into force are separate events. The published draft specifies commencement on 30 November 2026; it is not a duty already in force today. Check the final made legislation and its saving provisions before changing a compliance process.

• Decide which row above describes this building. Do not apply the private-rented timetable to a shop or to your own home.
• If it is a let dwelling and there is no report, arrange the inspection and test before the tenancy begins.
• If a report exists, read its date and whether it asks for an earlier reinspection.
• If that report asks for further investigation or remedial work, that is a different question from having no report.
• Treat the common parts as a separate installation, with their own extent and access.

The let-dwelling inspection is arranged through the landlord EICR service. A report that already asks for work is explained on the unsatisfactory EICR page.

For a specified tenancy in England, regulation 3(4) applies where the report indicates the landlord is or may be in breach of the duty to keep the electrical safety standards met, and the report requires further investigative or remedial work. A qualified person then carries out that work within 28 days, or any shorter period the report states, from the inspection and test. An unsatisfactory label or a code letter does not by itself start that period.

That is the failed-report question. It is explained on the unsatisfactory EICR page. It is not the same as having no report at all.