Does a New Build Rental Need an EICR?

Landlords buying off-plan often assume a new house sits outside the EICR rules because the electrics are new. It does not. The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 (SI 2020/312) still apply. What changes is the piece of paper you hold for the first five years.

You need an EIC, not an EICR, on day one

A new installation is certified with an Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC), issued by the electrician who designed, installed and tested the wiring to BS 7671. GOV.UK's statutory guidance is explicit: if the premises are newly built or have been completely rewired, the landlord can give tenants (and the council, on request) a copy of the EIC, and does not have to carry out a further inspection for five years after that certificate was issued.

Building Control sign-off is not a substitute. It confirms the build as a whole. The EIC is the electrical record the 2020 Regulations care about.

The five-year clock starts on the EIC date

That date is often weeks or months before completion. If the EIC was issued in March and you complete in September, the first EICR is still due in March five years later. Set the reminder from the certificate, not from the completion statement.

The same five-year rule applies after a complete rewire. A kitchen refit or a loft conversion that only recertifies part of the installation does not pause EICR duties on the circuits you did not touch.

What you still owe the tenant

Paperwork duties start with the first tenancy. Give the occupier a copy of the EIC before they move in (or within 28 days of the inspection, for later reports), keep it until the next inspection, and hand a copy to the local authority within seven days if they ask. Those timings are the same as for an EICR.

If the EIC is missing - common when a developer's pack is thin - commission an EICR. The regulations require evidence of compliance, not a particular form title. A satisfactory EICR from a qualified person meets that duty.

Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

The 2020 Regulations are England-only. Scotland's Repairing Standard and the Welsh and Northern Irish electrical rules have their own testing intervals. Configure the property's nation in Vantage so the reminder follows the right regime.

Keep the EIC date on the same record

Upload the EIC, keep the first EICR in the diary five years out, and use the certificate renewal calculator if you want the date without signing up. The same file will be asked for when the PRS Database opens in your region.