Do I need an EICR for an HMO licence in Slough?

An HMO must meet the electrical safety regulations like any other covered let, and the council will expect to see a satisfactory report.

Slough, Berkshire

Landlord EICRs in Slough: the five-year rule, locally

Slough has a large private rented sector, with family homes, shared houses and flats across the town, and each covered let needs a current EICR.

What is different in Slough

Slough Borough Council is the local housing authority for the town. It enforces the 2020 electrical safety regulations, can ask for a copy of your report and expects it within seven days, and can impose penalties of up to £30,000.

Much of Slough's housing dates from the interwar and post-war expansion of the town, with terraces and semis that have often been extended or converted. Extensions and loft conversions add circuits to an older installation, and an inspection will show whether the old and new parts work together safely.

Larger shared houses in Slough, as everywhere in England, need a mandatory licence from the council if they are let to five or more people from two or more households. The EICR is one of the documents a licensing application expects.

Local housing authority: Slough Borough Council (opens in a new tab)

The rule, in brief

If you let a home in England on a tenancy covered by the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, the fixed wiring must be inspected and tested by a qualified and competent person at least every five years. The result is an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR). Existing tenants get a copy within 28 days of the inspection, new tenants before they move in, and the council within 7 days if it asks for one. Owner-occupiers have no legal duty, but Electrical Safety First recommends an inspection at least every ten years, and whenever you buy a home.

Source: Electrical Safety First (opens in a new tab) / GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)

When do you need an EICR? — the full answer

Related safety advice

Signs your consumer unit needs replacing

A consumer unit, or fuse box, is worth having checked by a registered electrician if it still has rewirable fuses, has no RCD protection, shows scorch marks, smells of burning, crackles, feels hot, or trips repeatedly. Age on its own is not proof it is unsafe: an EICR is how you find out whether it needs replacing. Replacing one is notifiable work under Part P of the Building Regulations in England, so it is a job for a registered electrician rather than a DIY one.

Source: Electrical Safety First (opens in a new tab)

What Part P means for your electrical job

Part P of the Building Regulations covers electrical safety in homes in England. All electrical work has to meet it, but only some jobs are notifiable: installing a new circuit, replacing a consumer unit, and adding to or altering circuits in a special location such as a room with a bath or shower. Notifiable work is either done by an electrician registered with a competent person scheme, who certifies it and notifies building control, or notified to the council's building control before it starts.