Edinburgh · Scotland
EICR (Electrical Safety Report) in Edinburgh
One short form, and your EICR (Electrical Safety Report) in Edinburgh is in hand — correctly registered professionals, honest pricing guidance, and your certificate stored with its renewal date.
Straight answer
The EICR answers one question: is this property's fixed wiring safe? An electrician inspects and tests against the national wiring standard, grades faults C1 to C3, and issues a report that rental law in England, Scotland and Wales requires to be satisfactory and no more than 5 years old. NI has no matching general duty yet, but the report remains the standard evidence of electrical safety in Edinburgh.
Booking
Booking in three steps
Live booking isn't switched on for Edinburgh yet — vetting comes before listing, in that order. Leave your details and you'll get a straight answer by email: whether we can cover the property, when, and for how much. No obligation either way.
The inspection
What the electrician actually tests
The electrician works from the consumer unit outward: protective devices, earthing and bonding first, then each circuit dead-tested and live-tested in sequence. A proportion of accessible points — sockets, switches, fittings — is sampled and inspected. Defects are coded C1, C2, FI or C3; any of the first three makes the report unsatisfactory and triggers remedial work.
The law
What the law asks of landlords in Edinburgh
Three nations make the EICR compulsory for private lets — England, Scotland and Wales, each on an at-least-5-yearly cycle — and England backs it with fines of up to £30,000 that housing authorities like The City of Edinburgh Council can levy. An unsatisfactory report isn't a fail-and-forget: remedial work and written confirmation of it are part of the duty.
Private landlords must have the fixed electrical installation inspected and tested at least every 5 years by a qualified and competent person, give the report to tenants within 28 days (and to new tenants before they occupy), supply it to the council within 7 days if asked, and complete any remedial work within 28 days.
Private landlords must have an electrical safety inspection at least every 5 years, covering the installation and appliances the landlord provides.
Landlords must obtain an electrical condition report at least every 5 years and give contract-holders a copy.
There is no blanket 5-yearly EICR duty for private tenancies in Northern Ireland at present, though periodic inspection remains strongly recommended and may be required for HMOs.
Penalties stated are statutory maximums or court-set; The City of Edinburgh Council is the local housing authority for Edinburgh.
Pricing
What an EICR costs
Two things drive the price: circuit count and condition. A modern two-bed flat tests faster than a Victorian house rewired in stages, and access to the consumer unit and sockets matters more than floor area. Quotes should state what happens if remedials are needed — ours keep the report and any follow-up work separate.
Paperwork
Copies, deadlines and remedial evidence
Diarise two dates from every report: the next-inspection date the electrician writes in, and — if the result was unsatisfactory — the 28-day remedial deadline that applies in England. The report plus the electrician's written confirmation of completed remedials together form your evidence; one without the other leaves a gap.
Credentials
Who you're letting in
EICR isn't a protected task, which is exactly why vetting matters: anyone can buy a pad of forms. Our bar is demonstrable competence — recognised qualifications, scheme registration, calibrated instruments, insurance — checked before a booking is confirmed, not after a dispute.
For landlords in Edinburgh
Letting in Edinburgh: the practical points
Nothing about the test itself changes in Edinburgh — BS 7671 is the standard everywhere. What's local is enforcement and licensing: The City of Edinburgh Council is the housing authority, in England councils hold the £30,000 penalty power, and any HMO licence will expect the current satisfactory report among its papers.
FAQ
EICR (Electrical Safety Report) questions, answered
Who can carry out an EICR in Edinburgh?
A qualified and competent person — in practice an electrician who tests against BS 7671, typically registered with a scheme such as NICEIC or NAPIT. Landlords should ask for evidence of qualifications, scheme membership and insurance before booking.
Are EICR rules stricter for HMOs?
The 5-year cycle applies to HMOs in England the same as other lets, and mandatory HMO licence conditions require electrical safety. The City of Edinburgh Council may attach additional testing or evidence conditions to an HMO licence, so read your licence schedule carefully.
How long does an EICR take?
Usually 2 to 4 hours for a typical flat or house, longer for larger properties or older installations. Power is switched off circuit by circuit during testing, so tenants should expect short interruptions.
Is an EICR legally required for rentals in Edinburgh?
In England, yes: private landlords must have a satisfactory EICR renewed at least every 5 years. Scotland requires an EICR as part of the Repairing Standard. In Wales, the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2022 regime requires electrical safety testing at least every 5 years. Northern Ireland currently has no equivalent general duty for private tenancies, though safety obligations still apply.
What is an EICR?
An Electrical Installation Condition Report is a formal inspection of a property's fixed wiring — consumer unit, circuits, sockets, switches and light fittings — against the national wiring standard BS 7671. It records the installation's condition and classifies any defects.
My Edinburgh property is a new build — do I still need an EICR?
A new installation comes with an Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC), which in England can stand in place of the first EICR for 5 years from installation. After that, the normal 5-year EICR cycle applies.
Nearby
Also serving landlords in: Livingston · Dunfermline · Musselburgh · Falkirk · all of Edinburgh & the Lothians
Get the EICR (Electrical Safety Report) moving today — property details in, confirmed price out, certificate delivered digitally. Tell us about the property
Sorting your EICR (Electrical Safety Report) in Edinburgh?
Tell us the property and we'll confirm coverage and price by email before anything is committed.