EICR remedials: what C1 and C2 mean, and the 28 days

10 August 2026 · 6 min read

Scope: England. The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector Regulations 2020 apply in England; Wales imposes its own electrical safety duty through the Renting Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) (Wales) Regulations 2022 — see the Welsh position. Verified against the legislation on 10 August 2026.

Most landlords know the five-year cycle. Far fewer know what happens when the report comes back unsatisfactory, and that is where the deadline lives.

The codes

Code	Meaning	Report outcome
C1	Danger present. Risk of injury. Immediate action required.	Unsatisfactory
C2	Potentially dangerous. Urgent remedial action required.	Unsatisfactory
FI	Further investigation required without delay.	Unsatisfactory
C3	Improvement recommended.	Satisfactory — no deadline

C1, C2 and FI all make the report unsatisfactory and all start the clock. C3 does not. That single distinction is what decides whether you have 28 days or nothing to do.

The 28 days

Where a report requires remedial or further investigative work, you must have it done by a qualified person within 28 days — or within any shorter period the report itself specifies. A C1 marked "immediate" means immediate, not 28 days.

Then, within 28 days of the work being completed, you must supply written confirmation to:

the tenant, and
the local authority.

That second one is the step people miss. Doing the work and telling only the tenant leaves the duty half-performed.

What the evidence trail must contain

Written confirmation from the electrician that the remedial work has been completed, plus the original EICR showing what was required. Together they show the defect, the fix and the date. Keep both, and keep them together — a completion certificate with no report attached does not show what it cured.

Cost, honestly

We do not publish typical remedial prices, because we have not surveyed the market and a figure we cannot source is not one we will print. What is worth knowing is the shape: C2s are often cheap — missing RCD protection, poor earthing at a single point, an unlabelled consumer unit — while a C1 can indicate something structural in the installation. Ask the electrician to quote per coded item rather than as a single figure, so you can see which cost is attached to which obligation.

Enforcement

A local authority can serve a remedial notice, and where a landlord does not comply it can arrange the work itself and recover the cost, plus impose a financial penalty of up to £30,000. That is the same ceiling as the licensing civil penalty and is worth putting beside the cost of the work itself.

See the five-year cycle for when a report is due, and mid-tenancy re-service for what to send when a new report arrives.

Common questions

What do C1 and C2 mean on an EICR?

C1 means danger is present with a risk of injury and immediate action is required. C2 means potentially dangerous and urgent remedial action is required. FI means further investigation is needed without delay. All three make the report unsatisfactory and start the 28-day clock. C3 is an improvement recommendation only — the report remains satisfactory and there is no deadline.

How long do I have to do EICR remedial work?

Twenty-eight days from the report, or any shorter period the report itself specifies — a C1 marked immediate means immediate. Then within 28 days of the work being completed you must supply written confirmation to both the tenant and the local authority. Telling only the tenant leaves the duty half-performed.

What happens if I ignore an unsatisfactory report?

The local authority can serve a remedial notice, arrange the work itself and recover the cost from you, and impose a financial penalty of up to £30,000 — the same ceiling as the licensing civil penalty.

Sources

Figures about our own council records are computed when this page is built, so they cannot drift from the database. Information tool, not legal advice.