Rental flats
Which test is the rental flat actually asking for?
A landlord is often handed both names at once. They are different jobs. The PAT service is where portable-appliance testing is arranged. This page only separates the two so the instruction matches the thing being tested.
Reviewed 5 October 2026 by Michael (Technical Supervisor) and George Opsenica (Director, Codeex Maintenance Ltd). General guidance, not a reading of your own report and not legal advice.
Review details
- Michael: electrical guidance within the recorded review scope.
- George Opsenica: service information and presentation.
- George Opsenica: service information and presentation.
Two tests, two documents
An EICR describes the fixed electrical installation.
PAT is the common term used for in-service inspection and testing of portable or plug-in electrical equipment; it is separate from an EICR of the fixed installation.
PAT testing does not satisfy the private-rented duty to inspect and test the fixed electrical installation.
Landlords should assess appliance safety and any applicable duties for the equipment provided.
Social landlords should check their separate equipment-maintenance obligations and relevant guidance.
| Question | EICR | PAT |
|---|---|---|
| What is tested | Fixed installation: boards, circuits and connected fixed equipment | Portable equipment that can be unplugged |
| What it does not cover | Kettles, lamps and other plug-in items | Whether the fixed installation is satisfactory |
| Private-rented duty | The inspection of the fixed installation, where that duty applies | Not a substitute for that inspection |
| Who asks | Often a landlord, agent or local authority about the installation | Often an inventory, insurer or workplace question about appliances |
Match the words in the request
1. The request names the installation
A consumer unit, the circuits, or a condition report points to an EICR. That question is about the fixed installation.
2. The request names plug-in items
A kettle, a lamp, a PAT label, or appliances that leave with the tenant points to PAT.
3. The request names both
You have two instructions. Completing one does not complete the other.
4. You let the flat
Where the private-rented duty applies, it is about the fixed installation. Appliance safety is a separate question from the fixed-installation inspection.
Decide which document you were asked for
If the request names the electrical installation, the consumer unit, or a condition report, it is pointing at an EICR. If it names portable appliances, a PAT label, or items that leave with the tenant, it is pointing at PAT.
A flat can need one, the other, or both, because the installation and the appliances are different things. Needing both is not the same as one test covering both.
Arrange the fixed-installation inspection through EICR certificates for landlords. Arrange portable-appliance testing through PAT testing in London.
Related pages
Name the thing being tested.
The fixed installation and portable equipment are different jobs. PAT does not stand in for the EICR.
- 5.0Google (58)
- 4.6Trustpilot (19)
- From £142.80 inc VAT
- EICR usually ready within 24h