Do student houses in Reading need an EICR?

Yes, if they are let on a tenancy covered by the 2020 regulations, which most privately let student houses are. Purpose-built halls of residence are among the exclusions.

Reading, Berkshire

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

Reading has one of the busiest rental markets in Berkshire, from student houses near the university to flats in the town centre. Every one of those lets needs an in-date electrical safety report.

What is different in Reading

Reading Borough Council is the local housing authority for the town, so it is the body that can ask to see your EICR, give you seven days to produce it and take enforcement action if a let does not comply. Caversham sits inside the same borough; Woodley, Earley and Lower Earley are mostly in Wokingham Borough, so check which council covers a property before assuming.

A lot of central Reading housing is Victorian and Edwardian terraces, many converted into flats or shared houses over the decades. Conversions like that often have wiring from several eras behind one front door, which is exactly what a thorough inspection is meant to catch. Shared houses let to students are covered by the five-year rule just like a family let, and larger houses in multiple occupation also need a licence from the council.

If you let several properties in Reading, putting every report's date in one diary saves you from discovering a lapsed EICR on the day a new tenant moves in.

Local housing authority: Reading 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.