Landlord duties
Do I need a new EICR for a new tenant in London?
A new tenant does not automatically mean a brand-new report, and an existing report does not automatically cover the new tenancy. Read the report, the next inspection date, any limitation, and whether the installation has changed since the inspection.
Updated 27 October 2026. General guidance, not a reading of your own report and not legal advice.
The duty before a tenancy
For a specified tenancy in England, arrange inspection and testing by a qualified person at least every five years, or by an earlier date stated in the report. Provide the required report before a new tenant moves in. Government guidance explains when an existing valid report can be used on re-letting; check its findings, next-inspection date and any changes to the installation rather than assuming that every new tenancy needs a new EICR.
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.
Read the situation you actually have
Work down this list. Stop at the first description that matches the report and the installation. Do not combine a comfortable answer from one row with a different property.
There is no report for this installation
Arrange the inspection and test before the tenancy begins. There is nothing to carry forward.
A report exists and the next inspection date has passed
Arrange the inspection. The date on the report is the one to use. Do not add five years of your own.
The report recommends an earlier inspection
Follow that earlier date. A report can require the next inspection sooner than five years, and that recommendation is part of the duty above.
A report exists, the next date is still ahead, and the installation is unchanged
Government guidance explains when an existing valid report can be used on re-letting. Check its findings, next-inspection date and any changes to the installation with a qualified person; do not infer a new duty from the proposed amendment.
The report has limitations
A limitation means those parts were not confirmed. Do not describe the limited parts as satisfactory because the front page looks tidy. If the new tenancy depends on a part the inspector could not see, arrange for that part to be inspected.
The report required remedial or further investigative work
Completed remedial work does not, by itself, show that every observation on the old report has been closed. Read the observation list against the paperwork for the work. Unfinished items are still open.
New electrical work has been done
An Electrical Installation Certificate or a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate describes new or altered work. It does not rewrite the old condition report. The condition of the rest of the installation is still the condition report's subject.
The installation has materially changed
A rewire, a new consumer unit, or a circuit layout that the old report does not describe means the old report is about a different installation. Arrange an inspection of the installation the tenant will actually use.
The home is not a specified tenancy
The rented-housing duty is not a rule for every building. An owner-occupied home, or a building outside that duty, is a different question from a new tenant in a let dwelling.
Read the report date and its recommended next inspection date alongside our EICR validity and renewal guide.
A new tenant in the same installation
Changing the name on the tenancy does not, by itself, rewire the flat. It also does not refresh the report. The questions above are about the installation and the document, not about how many people have held keys.
Take the existing report, the next inspection date, any limitation, and a note of work done since the inspection. That is what decides whether the visit is a condition inspection or a check of altered work.
The tenancy reforms that are already in force are a separate question, covered under the Renters' Rights Act and an EICR. Book the inspection through the landlord EICR service.
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