What the 2025 electrical-safety amendment changed

SI 2025/1043 amended the existing England regulations, rather than replacing them with an entirely separate scheme. From 1 November 2025, the maximum financial penalty under regulation 11 rose from £30,000 to £40,000. The amendment also added provisions for a landlord who can demonstrate that all reasonable steps were taken to comply with specified duties.

A tenant's refusal of access is not a reason to abandon compliance. Keep dated records of reasonable attempts to arrange access, communications with the tenant and the action proposed by the qualified person. The reasonable-steps provisions are fact-specific; they are not an automatic exemption from inspection or safety work.

The report must give the date by which the next inspection and test is required. Arrange it by that date, including where it is earlier than the usual five-year maximum. Keep the report and provide copies to the people entitled to receive them under the regulations.

The amendment brought registered providers of social housing into the regime and added requirements for electrical equipment supplied under the tenancy. The commencement and transitional provisions distinguish tenancies granted before 1 December 2025 from later tenancies.

For the specified older social tenancies covered by regulation 3E, the initial installation inspection and equipment checks must take place before 1 November 2026. A provider should check the actual tenancy and transitional provision rather than applying that date to every property or treating it as a new deadline for an ordinary private let.

See the social-housing deadline guide for those transitional dates.

The year in the amending instrument does not, by itself, cancel an existing report. Check its outcome, findings, limitations and next-inspection date, whether required work has been completed, and whether the installation or tenancy circumstances have changed. An earlier inspection may be needed where there are new safety concerns.

Government guidance explains the use of an existing valid report when re-letting and recommends an interim visual check. Read that guidance alongside the legislation applicable to the property; do not treat a new article date as an instruction to buy another inspection.

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.

The 2026 amendment guide explains the approval and commencement distinction.

Source position checked on 27 October 2026. The official instrument is the authority for commencement, amendments and transitional provisions. This is general information; a tenancy-specific legal decision may need professional advice.

• Read SI 2025/1043, including regulations 1, 5, 7 and 10
• Read the government guidance for landlords
• Plan a landlord EICR inspection