Landlord duties
What should I do if the EICR is expired or missing?
A missing copy is not proof that no inspection happened, and an out-of-date report is not the same problem as a failed observation. Start by working out which of those you actually have, then read the next inspection date and whether the installation has changed.
Updated 27 October 2026. General guidance, not a reading of your own report and not legal advice.
The inspection duty that still applies
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.
While a specified tenancy is occupied, the duty to keep the electrical safety standards met continues.
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.
Which situation is yours?
These are separate questions. Answering one of them does not answer the others.
You cannot find any certificate
Look for the PDF, the paper report, and any email from the inspector before you assume nothing was done. A missing file is an administration problem until you know whether an inspection took place. If you cannot find a report that meets the before-tenancy duty, arrange the inspection rather than guessing.
You know an inspection happened, but the PDF is lost
Ask the contractor who did the inspection for another copy, and check the date, the address, and the next inspection date on it. A replacement copy of the same report is not a new inspection. If they cannot produce it, you are back to having no report you can rely on.
The report is out of date
Read the date of the inspection and the next inspection date the report itself gives. The maximum interval is five years. An earlier date printed on the report is the one that matters. An old satisfactory result does not extend itself.
The report asks for an earlier interval
Follow that date. The five-year maximum is not permission to ignore a shorter interval the report requires.
A new tenancy is about to start
The before-tenancy inspection is a separate question from how long an existing occupied tenancy has left. If you are unsure whether that report meets the before-tenancy duty, arrange the inspection rather than guessing.
The tenancy is already occupied
Keep the standards met while the tenancy continues. Losing the PDF does not pause that duty, and neither does a satisfactory label on a report whose next date has passed.
Work has been done since the report
An Electrical Installation Certificate or a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate describes new or altered work. It does not rewrite the old condition report. Keep both. The condition report's next date still stands unless a new condition report replaces it.
The installation has changed
A new circuit, a new consumer unit, or a layout that no longer matches the report is a reason to question whether the old report still describes the installation. That is not the same as a missing file, and it is not cured by reprinting the old PDF.
If the report may be out of date, use the EICR validity and renewal guide to organise the dates and records before arranging the next step.
Do not treat a missing file as a failed observation
A failed report is about observations on an installation that was inspected. An expired date is about the interval. A missing copy is about whether you can show the report. Remedial work belongs to observations that ask for it. Future changes to the law are not a reason to ignore the duty that applies today.
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.
Landlord inspections are arranged through the landlord EICR service. A new letting is covered in more detail on the new-tenant guide.
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