Why a new EICR failed after the previous one passed

• Time

  Accessories age, connections loosen, and moisture or heat can change a condition that was acceptable years earlier.

• Work since

  A new circuit, a replaced board, or an alteration can introduce a condition the old report never saw.

• Access

  A cupboard that was opened last time, or locked this time, changes the extent. A limitation is not a hidden pass.

• What could be seen

  A later inspection can find something that was not observable before: a cover removed, a loft entered, or a fitting that has since cracked.

• The date

  The assessment is the installation at that visit. It is not a rolling approval of every future day.

• The observations

  Read the new schedule. The result follows those items, not the memory of the old front page.

Keep both files open. The useful comparison is specific. An older satisfactory report does not cancel a later unsatisfactory observation, but you still need to see which fact changed.

• Address and installation

  Confirm both reports are for this property, and note whether the same consumer unit or distribution boards are named.

• Dates

  Write down each inspection date and each recommended next inspection date. Do not replace those dates with the year you remember.

• Extent

  List the areas and boards included last time and this time. A board that was omitted is not a disagreement about that board.

• Limitations

  A locked room, a sealed fitting, or a test that could not be finished should be named. A limitation on one report and a full view on the other is a change of extent.

• The new observations

  Copy the wording and the code of each new item. If the report is unsatisfactory, look for the C1 and C2 items. They are the ones that explain that result.

• Work in between

  Note any new circuit, replacement board, or damage since the earlier visit. That history belongs with the comparison, not as an accusation.

Two competent inspections can differ because the installation differs, or because the extent differs. This page does not accuse the earlier inspector, the later inspector, the landlord or the tenant. An accusation needs evidence this article does not have.

Put the two reports side by side. Compare the address, the boards included, the limitations, and the observation that now carries a code. If the new report is unsatisfactory, look for the C1 and C2 items. They are the ones that explain that result.

Under the current A4:2026 EICR format, an FI observation is advisory and does not by itself make the overall assessment unsatisfactory. An FI on the new report is a reason to investigate that item. It is not a verdict on the old inspector.

Keep both files. The older satisfactory report is the record of that earlier day. It does not switch off a later C1 or C2. There is no universal repair price. The remedial quotation follows the new observations.

If you are a landlord of a specified tenancy and the new report requires further investigative or remedial work, the follow-up duty is the one in the regulations, not a debate about the old PDF. An unsatisfactory label or a code letter does not by itself start that period.

The new observations are discussed through remedial work. A fresh inspection, if the extent was too limited, is EICR testing. Reading a mixed set of codes is covered on how to read more than one code.