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      Do you need an EICR to sell a house?

      In England and Wales, an EICR is not part of the legal paperwork for selling a home, although buyers may still ask for one during conveyancing. Across the UK the practical answer is mostly the same, with Scotland needing one separate Home Report note.

      By Abodient Team Published 22 August 2026 5 min read
      Do you need an EICR to sell a house?

      In England and Wales, an EICR is not part of the legal paperwork for selling a home, although buyers may still ask for one during conveyancing. Across the UK the practical answer is mostly the same, with Scotland needing one separate Home Report note.

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        Do you need an EICR certificate to sell your house, as the seller or the buyer?

        An EICR is not a legal requirement for the sale of property in England and Wales, so a seller can sell a house without an EICR certificate and a buyer does not need one to complete the purchase. The £30,000 figure often attached to “electrical certificates” is not a sale penalty: it applies only where a private landlord breaches the rented-property duty under regulation 3, and it cannot fall on an ordinary seller or buyer. The 5-year EICR interval is also landlord-only; owner-occupiers have no periodic electrical-testing duty. The Law Society’s TA6 form asks whether the property has an EICR, which means “say if one exists”, not “commission one before exchange”. The electrical certificate a seller may need is different: if notifiable electrical work was carried out, the Part P completion certificate should have been given to the occupier within 30 days. In Scotland, the seller must supply a Home Report, but it is not an EICR and does not test the electrics; in Northern Ireland there is no sale EICR rule either. Proactively buying an EICR can be smart for an older leasehold flat, but mainly because it removes a renegotiation weapon, not because the law demands it.

        Should the buyer or the seller pay for an EICR?

        One source says the buyer is usually responsible for an EICR, another says the seller commissions it before listing, and neither cites binding authority because no rule in England, Wales or Northern Ireland allocates the cost between buyer and seller. The practical default is that the buyer arranges and pays for the EICR if they want one, because even a RICS home survey does not test service installations or appliances at any survey level. A seller may still choose to pay before marketing where the electrics are likely to become a price chip, especially in an older house, a leasehold flat, or a property with visible DIY work. That is a negotiation tactic, not a legal duty. In Scotland, the seller must possess the prescribed Home Report documents before marketing, but the buyer may be charged only the reasonable copying and sending cost; that Home Report still is not an EICR. Where no current report exists, the cleanest position is to agree in writing who is instructing the electrician, who pays, and whether the result can be used to renegotiate.

        Last reviewed August 2026.

        Sources

        • An EICR is not a legal requirement for the sale of property in England and Wales. — “An EICR is not a legal requirement for the sale of property in England and Wales.” Source
        • The statutory EICR duty attaches to a private landlord granting or intending to grant a specified tenancy. — “A private landlord who grants or intends to grant a specified tenancy must— (a) ensure that the electrical safety standards are met during any period when the residential premises are occupied under a specified tenancy” Source
        • The rented-property EICR duty is triggered by a specified tenancy, including occupation as a main residence and payment of rent. — “'specified tenancy' means a tenancy of residential premises in England which— (a) grants one or more persons the right to occupy all or part of the premises as their only or main residence; (b) provides for payment of rent (whether or not a market rent)” Source
        • The £30,000 financial penalty belongs to breach of the landlord duty under regulation 3, not to a house sale by an ordinary seller or buyer. — “Where a local housing authority is satisfied, beyond reasonable doubt, that a private landlord has breached a duty under regulation 3, the authority may impose a financial penalty” Source
        • Owner-occupiers are not legally obliged to get their electrical installation tested periodically where the property is not an HMO. — “If your property is not an HMO, then you are not legally obliged to get your installation tested on a periodic basis.” Source
        • The Law Society TA6 form asks whether the property has an EICR. — “11.3 Does the property have an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR)?” Source
        • For notifiable electrical work, the person carrying out the work must give the occupier a copy of the certificate within 30 days after completion. — “the person carrying out the work shall, not more than 30 days after the completion of the work— (a) give to the occupier a copy of the certificate referred to in paragraph (2)” Source
        • Part P concerns design and installation of electrical installations, not periodic inspection on sale. — “Reasonable provision shall be made in the design and installation of electrical installations in order to protect persons operating, maintaining or altering the installations from fire or injury.” Source
        • Electrical Safety First says a seller does not need to provide an EICR to sell a property. — “You do not need to provide an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR) in order to sell a property, although it will give your buyer peace of mind that the property they are buying is electrically safe.” Source
        • If there has been no electrical check or no report, Electrical Safety First advises the buyer to find a registered electrician to carry out an EICR. — “If there has been no check, or there is no report, find a registered electrician to carry out an Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR).” Source
        • RICS surveyors do not test service installations or appliances in a home survey. — “The RICS member does not perform or comment on design calculations or test the service installations or appliances in any way.” Source
        • In Scotland, the person responsible for marketing a house must possess the prescribed documents. — “A person who is responsible for marketing a house which is on the market must possess the prescribed documents in relation to the house.” Source
        • In Scotland, the buyer may be charged only the reasonable cost of making and sending a paper copy of the prescribed documents. — “The person responsible for marketing the house may charge a sum not exceeding the reasonable cost of making and, if requested, sending a paper copy of any prescribed documents requested under subsection (1).” Source
        • The Scottish Single Survey rates electricity but recommends that relevant estimates and reports are obtained in the buyer’s own name. — “We recommend that relevant estimates and reports are obtained in your own name.” Source

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