How much is an EICR for a 3-bed house?

Around £150–£250 is the going range across the UK, based on the major price guides. Expect the top of that range or above in London and the South East, and often less in Scotland and the North. A 1-bed flat is more like £100–£150, and a large 4–5 bed house £250–£400.

Is an EICR a legal requirement?

For rented homes, yes — landlords in England, Scotland and Wales must have the electrical installation inspected at least every 5 years and hold a valid report. For a home you own and live in, there's no legal requirement; the industry guidance is an inspection at least every 10 years, and it's sensible when buying a property.

What happens if my EICR is unsatisfactory?

The report lists observations coded C1 (danger present), C2 (potentially dangerous) or FI (further investigation needed) — any one of these makes the report unsatisfactory, and the issues need fixing. In a rented property in England, remedial work must be done within 28 days, or sooner if the report says so. C3 observations are recommendations only — a report with only C3s is still satisfactory.

How long does an EICR last?

Until the next inspection date written on the report. For rented homes that's a maximum of 5 years by law; for owner-occupied homes the recommendation is 10 years. An inspector can set a shorter interval if the installation's condition justifies it.

Who can carry out an EICR?

A qualified electrician who's competent in inspection and testing — in practice, someone registered with a scheme such as NICEIC or NAPIT, or in Scotland a SELECT member firm. A report from an unregistered person may not be accepted by your insurer, mortgage lender or local council.

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How much should an EICR cost? Honest numbers, and what moves them

6 August 2026 · Robert McLaggan

A domestic EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) typically costs £100–£350 in the UK, with a 3-bed house around £150–£250. The price tracks the number of circuits and the age of the installation more than the bedroom count, and London runs 15–40% above the national range while Scotland tends to sit below it. The fee covers inspection and the report only — any repair work is quoted separately. Landlords must have one at least every 5 years in England, Scotland and Wales; for owner-occupiers it's not a legal requirement but is recommended every 10 years and when buying a home. Be wary of anything much under £100 — a proper test of a whole house takes a few hours, not one.

If you've just been quoted for an EICR — or you're a landlord staring at a renewal date — the first question is simple: is the price fair? Here are the honest numbers, and the things that legitimately move them.

The going rates

An EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) is a formal inspection of your home's fixed wiring — the consumer unit, the circuits, the sockets and switches — with a written report at the end. Across the main UK price guides, most domestic EICRs land between £100 and £350:

1-bed flat: £100–£150
2-bed flat or house: £120–£200
3-bed house: £150–£250
4-bed house: £250–£350
5-bed house and larger: £300–£400+

Where you live shifts the whole scale. London and the South East run roughly 15–40% above these ranges — a 3-bed EICR at £230–£300 in London is normal. Scotland and the North of England tend to come in below the national range.

One thing the fee never includes: fixing anything. The EICR is inspection and report only. Any remedial work gets quoted separately, on top.

What actually drives the price

It's not really about bedrooms — that's just a proxy. What the electrician is pricing is:

The number of circuits. This is the big one. Each circuit gets tested individually, so a 1-bed flat with 6 circuits is a much smaller job than a 4-bed house with 15. Extensions, outbuildings, EV chargers and electric showers all add circuits.
The age of the installation. Older wiring takes longer to inspect and tends to produce more observations to investigate and write up.
Access. A consumer unit buried in a cupboard, wiring under fitted floors, lofts with no boards — anything that slows the inspector down costs time.

A typical 2–3 bed house takes 2–4 hours of actual testing. That matters when you're judging a quote, as we'll get to.

Reading the report: C1, C2, C3 and FI

The report grades everything it finds with an observation code:

C1 — danger present. Risk of injury; needs immediate action.
C2 — potentially dangerous. Not an immediate danger, but could become one.
C3 — improvement recommended. Doesn't meet current standards, but not unsafe.
FI — further investigation required. Something needs a closer look before it can be graded.

Any C1, C2 or FI makes the overall report unsatisfactory. A report with only C3s is satisfactory — you're not obliged to act on C3s, though some are worth doing.

Worth knowing: an installation wired to an older edition of the regulations doesn't fail just for being older. Wiring standards are updated regularly — most recently in April 2026 — and "not built to the latest edition" on its own is typically a C3, not a fail.

The rules if you're a landlord

All three nations require an inspection at least every 5 years, but the details differ:

England. The Electrical Safety Standards regulations require an EICR at least every 5 years, remedial work on C1/C2/FI items within 28 days (or sooner if the report says so), and copies to tenants within 28 days. Councils can fine up to £40,000 per breach — raised from £30,000 in November 2025, when the rules were also extended to social housing.
Scotland. The 5-yearly electrical safety inspection is part of the repairing standard, and it covers landlord-supplied appliances (PAT) as well as the fixed wiring. Enforcement runs through the housing tribunal rather than fixed fines.
Wales. A valid electrical condition report is required throughout the tenancy, renewed at least every 5 years, with a copy to the tenant within 7 days. Without one, the home can be treated as unfit for human habitation — which puts the rent itself at risk.

If you're an owner-occupier, none of this applies to you. The industry recommendation is an inspection at least every 10 years, and when you buy a place — a survey doesn't test the electrics.

The £60 EICR, and other red flags

EICR pricing has a known failure mode at the bottom of the market, and it's worth naming plainly.

A proper EICR on a whole house takes hours of dead and live testing, circuit by circuit. A full "EICR" priced at £50–£60, or done in under an hour, is usually a visual once-over with a certificate attached — which defeats the point of paying for one at all.

The subtler problem is the incentive at the other end: the inspector who fails the report, then quotes heavily to fix it. Most electricians are straight about this, and a genuine unsatisfactory report is exactly what the inspection is for — but the structure invites abuse, and landlord forums have plenty of stories of a clean report one cycle becoming a dozen C2s the next, with a large remedial quote attached from the same firm.

Sensible protection, without treating anyone as a crook:

Use someone registered with NICEIC or NAPIT — or in Scotland, a SELECT member firm. Reports from unregistered inspectors may not satisfy your insurer, lender or council anyway.
Ask for the report, not just the verdict. Every C1 and C2 should name the issue and its location. Vague failures are a warning sign.
On a heavy remedial quote, get a second opinion before committing. Any competent electrician can price work from another firm's report — a genuine list of faults survives the second look.

A fair EICR price buys you hours of a qualified person's time and a report you can hand to a tenant, a buyer, an insurer or a council. Judged against that, £150–£250 for a 3-bed house is what the job actually costs — and the suspiciously cheap version isn't the same product at all.

Common questions

How much is an EICR for a 3-bed house?: Around £150–£250 is the going range across the UK, based on the major price guides. Expect the top of that range or above in London and the South East, and often less in Scotland and the North. A 1-bed flat is more like £100–£150, and a large 4–5 bed house £250–£400.
Is an EICR a legal requirement?: For rented homes, yes — landlords in England, Scotland and Wales must have the electrical installation inspected at least every 5 years and hold a valid report. For a home you own and live in, there's no legal requirement; the industry guidance is an inspection at least every 10 years, and it's sensible when buying a property.
What happens if my EICR is unsatisfactory?: The report lists observations coded C1 (danger present), C2 (potentially dangerous) or FI (further investigation needed) — any one of these makes the report unsatisfactory, and the issues need fixing. In a rented property in England, remedial work must be done within 28 days, or sooner if the report says so. C3 observations are recommendations only — a report with only C3s is still satisfactory.
How long does an EICR last?: Until the next inspection date written on the report. For rented homes that's a maximum of 5 years by law; for owner-occupied homes the recommendation is 10 years. An inspector can set a shorter interval if the installation's condition justifies it.
Who can carry out an EICR?: A qualified electrician who's competent in inspection and testing — in practice, someone registered with a scheme such as NICEIC or NAPIT, or in Scotland a SELECT member firm. A report from an unregistered person may not be accepted by your insurer, mortgage lender or local council.

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