How much does an EICR cost in 2026? Honest numbers from the trade
In short: In 2026 an EICR typically costs £120 to £180 for a flat, £180 to £300 for a 3 bed house and £250 to £400 for a larger property, plus VAT where the firm is registered. The price tracks circuit count, access and region rather than bedrooms, and a quote far below the local market usually means a heavily sampled inspection.
Key points
- Budget £120 to £180 for a flat, £180 to £300 for a 3 bed house, £250 to £400 for larger, plus VAT where registered.
- Price tracks circuit count, access and region, not bedrooms.
- Remedial work is quoted and charged separately from the inspection.
- A price far below the local market usually means a heavily sampled inspection or a report written to sell repairs.
- Private rentals in England need one at least every five years; homeowners have no legal duty.
Ask three electricians what an EICR costs and you will get three numbers and an argument. All three can be right, because the price tracks the size of the installation, the region, and how thorough the inspection actually is. Here is how the numbers look in 2026, from the side of the trade that writes the reports.
Typical EICR prices in 2026
| Property | Typical range |
|---|---|
| 1 to 2 bed flat | £120 to £180 |
| 3 bed house | £180 to £300 |
| 4 to 5 bed house | £250 to £400 |
| HMO or larger rental | £300 upwards, priced per board and circuit count |
London and the South East sit at the top of each range, Scotland, Wales and the North usually towards the bottom. VAT registered firms add 20 percent to all of it.
What actually drives the price
- Circuit count, not bedrooms. Bedrooms are a proxy. A 3 bed house with one board and eight circuits is a different day from a 3 bed with a garage board, a loft conversion and an EV charger.
- Access. Furniture against every socket, no loft ladder, a tenant who works nights. Time on site is the cost.
- The age and state of the installation. An older installation produces more observations, more notes, more report time.
- What the inspector actually tests. The sampling percentage and the extent agreed up front change the hours involved, which brings us to the cheap quotes.
Why the £79 EICR is rarely the bargain it looks
An EICR priced far below the local market only works commercially in two ways: the inspection is heavily sampled and time-boxed, or the report is a lead generator for remedial work, where every borderline observation becomes a C2 and a quote follows. Neither serves the person paying. A realistic inspection of an average house is several hours of dead and live testing plus the report itself; price a working day accordingly and the floor becomes obvious.
For landlords: what the law requires
Private rentals in England need an EICR at least every five years under the 2020 Electrical Safety Standards regulations, with a copy to tenants and, on request, to the council. If the report lists C1, C2 or FI observations, remedial work must be completed within 28 days. Our guide to EICR codes C1, C2, C3 and FI explains what each one obliges you to fix.
What you should get for the money
A fair EICR price buys a defined piece of work, not a drive-by. Before you pay, you should be told what the inspection will and will not cover, and afterwards you should hold a report you can act on. A complete EICR includes:
- A visual inspection of the consumer unit and a representative sample of accessories and fittings
- Dead testing of each circuit: continuity, insulation resistance and polarity
- Live testing: earth fault loop impedance, prospective fault current and RCD operating times
- Every circuit recorded on the schedule of test results, with the readings, not just a tick
- Observations coded C1, C2, C3 or FI with their location, explained in our guide to EICR codes
- A clear satisfactory or unsatisfactory outcome and the recommended date for the next inspection
Sampling, and why it appears in the price
An EICR does not test 100 percent of every accessory in most homes; it works on a representative sample, and the agreed sampling rate is written into the extent and limitations on the front of the report. A higher sampling percentage means more time on site and a higher price, which is the honest reason a thorough inspection costs more than a quick one. The number to be wary of is a whole-house EICR priced as if it takes an hour, because the only way to hit that price is to sample almost nothing and say so in small print, or not to test at all. Our guide to how long an EICR takes sets out where the hours actually go.
The cost base behind a cheap EICR
It helps to see the inspection from the side that prices it. A self-employed inspector carries a van, fuel, public liability and professional indemnity insurance, scheme membership, a calibrated multifunction tester worth four figures that needs recalibrating yearly, and the hours of report writing that never appear on site. Spread across a realistic number of billable days, the floor under a competent inspection of an average house sits well above the loss-leader prices. When a quote drops below that floor, the missing money comes out of either the testing or the impartiality of the report.
For electricians: pricing an EICR without racing to the bottom
Price the hours honestly: agreed extent, circuit count, sampling, report time, and the follow-up conversation when the report is unsatisfactory. State the extent and limitations in writing on the quote. The inspectors who win repeat landlord work are rarely the cheapest; they are the ones whose reports arrive the same day, coded consistently, with the next inspection date already in the landlord's diary.
Common questions
How much is an EICR for a 3 bed house?
Typically £180 to £300 in 2026 depending on region, the number of circuits, and access. London and the South East sit at the top of that range.
How long does an EICR take?
A competent inspection of an average house takes 2 to 4 hours on site, plus the time to produce the report. A 45 minute EICR on a whole house is a red flag.
How often does a rental property need an EICR?
At least every five years for private rentals in England, or sooner if the previous report says so. A new tenancy needs a valid report in place at the start.
Does an EICR include fixing the faults?
No. The EICR is the inspection and report only. Any remedial work for C1, C2 or FI items is priced and carried out separately, ideally with a fixed quote once the report is done so you can see what you are paying for.
Why is one quote £79 and another £180?
The £79 inspection only adds up commercially if it is heavily time-boxed and sampled, or if it is a lead generator where borderline observations become C2s and a repair quote follows. A genuine inspection of an average house is several hours of testing plus the report, so the realistic floor is higher than the headline-grabbing prices suggest.
Do homeowners legally need an EICR?
No. There is no legal duty on an owner-occupier to hold an EICR. It is still the cheapest survey you can run on the most dangerous system in the house, and a recent satisfactory report removes a common negotiation point when you sell.
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