Yes. If you rent out a home in Wales on an occupation contract, the law requires a valid Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR), renewed at least every five years. But Wales has an extra trap: a clean certificate sitting in your drawer is not enough. You must serve a copy on your tenant within 14 days, or the property is treated as unfit to live in even when the wiring is perfectly safe.
What does Welsh law actually require?
Under the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 and the Fitness for Human Habitation regulations, landlords have three duties:
- Test every five years. The electrical installation must be inspected and tested by a competent electrician at least once every five years, and after a change of tenancy where the certificate has lapsed.
- Fix what fails. Any C1 or C2 fault flagged on the report must be put right, and you must get written confirmation of the remedial work within 14 days of it being completed.
- Serve the report. You must give your tenant (the contract-holder) a copy of the EICR within 14 days of the occupation date, or within 14 days of the inspection if the test is done after they move in.
That third duty is the one most landlords miss.
Why is the 14-day rule such a big deal in Wales?
Because of how the law treats failure. A High Court ruling confirmed that if you do not serve the EICR on your tenant, the home is deemed unfit for human habitation, even if the EICR showed no problems at all. The wiring can be flawless. If the paperwork never reached the tenant, you have technically failed the standard.
The consequences are real. A tenant in an unfit dwelling can pursue you for breach, you can struggle to recover possession, and Rent Smart Wales, the body that enforces all this, can take action against your licence. It is the kind of avoidable, paperwork-only failure that costs landlords money for no reason.
So the honest summary is this: getting the test done is half the job. Getting the certificate into your tenant’s hands, on time and on record, is the other half.
How often do I need to renew it, and when does the clock start?
Every five years from the date on the report, as a minimum. Some installations get flagged for re-inspection sooner, for example an older board that passed but is close to the end of its life. The electrician will state the recommended next-inspection date on the certificate itself, so you are never guessing.
A few practical triggers that mean you should not wait the full five years:
- You are taking on a new tenant and the existing certificate is more than a year or two old.
- You have had electrical work done since the last test (a new fuse board, an extension, an EV charger).
- The property has had a fault, a flood, or signs of overheating at the board.
Who can carry out a landlord EICR?
A qualified, registered electrician who is competent to inspect and test. Renovolt is NAPIT registered, and the same person who quotes the job, Aled Bargery, is the one who carries out the inspection and signs the certificate. There is no call centre and no subcontractor you have never met turning up at your tenant’s door.
For landlords with a single buy-to-let or a small portfolio across Bridgend, Pencoed, Cowbridge, the Vale of Glamorgan or Cardiff, that matters: you deal with one person, you get one consistent report format, and you know exactly who has been in the property.
What does it cost and how fast is the report back?
A landlord EICR with Renovolt is £200 + VAT (£240 inc VAT) per property. Every circuit is tested, the work is photographed, and the report is returned quickly so you can serve it on your tenant well inside the 14-day window. You can read more on the landlord EICR page.