The cost of ignoring an EICR is not an automatic fine

Regulation 11 of the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector and Social Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 says a local housing authority may impose a financial penalty where it is satisfied, beyond reasonable doubt, that a landlord has breached a duty under regulation 3, 3B, 3C or 3D. The authority decides the amount. The amount must not exceed £40,000. More than one penalty is possible if the failure continues.

The £40,000 sum was substituted for £30,000 by the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) (Amendment) (Extension to the Social Rented Sector) Regulations 2025. The amendment took effect on 1 November 2025 for specified purposes and on 1 May 2026 for the remainder. Both dates are before 3 October 2026. £30,000 is the earlier maximum, kept here only so the old address is not mistaken for the rule in force.

An unsatisfactory EICR does not impose the penalty. The absence of a report does not impose it either. The authority has to be satisfied of a breach of one of the duties named in regulation 11, and it has to follow the notice procedure in Schedule 2. The final notice cannot be varied so as to impose more than £40,000.

£40,000 is a ceiling, not a standard charge and not a bill this company issues. Many breaches, if a penalty is used at all, will be for a lower amount. This page cannot say what a particular authority will do.

The penalty is a local housing authority power against a landlord under those regulations. It is not a fine on a tenant, and it is not the cost of the inspection or the repairs. Remedial work is a separate cost. Inspection prices are on the EICR cost page.

The 30 November 2026 draft is not current law on 3 October 2026 and does not change this maximum.

• Check whether this is a rented dwelling covered by the regulations, rather than an owner-occupied home or a shop.
• If there is no inspection report for that dwelling, arrange the inspection. The absence of a report is not itself the penalty notice.
• If a report exists, read whether it requires further investigation or remedial work. That duty is separate from the maximum penalty.
• Keep the report and the paperwork for any work that followed. A penalty, if an authority uses one, is decided by that authority after its own procedure.