Any Electrical Installation Condition Report carrying a C1, C2 or FI code is classed as unsatisfactory, whatever else it says. Once you receive that report, the law requires you to get remedial or investigative work done by a qualified electrician within 28 days, or sooner if the report names a tighter deadline, then confirm the fix in writing. Skip that window and you are exposed to enforcement action, not just an awkward conversation with a tenant.
TL;DR:
- An unsatisfactory electrical report with a C1, C2, or FI code must be addressed within 28 days using qualified electricians, or enforcement action may follow.
- Urgent repairs for C1 defects require immediate action, including circuit isolation, while C2 and FI issues need to be scheduled within the statutory timeframe, with clear documentation kept.
- Evidence of remedial work must come from a qualified person, through confirmation, certificates, or a new EICR, and this must be filed with tenants and authorities within 28 days.
- Key mistakes include poor documentation and neglecting FI codes, which carry the same legal weight as C2 issues and can turn non-compliance into enforcement action.
- Using managed services like 777pcm can streamline the process by coordinating access, completing repairs, issuing certificates, and maintaining compliance records in one system.
Table of Contents
- What makes an EICR 'unsatisfactory': decoding C1, C2, C3 and FI
- What to do first after an unsatisfactory EICR (days 0 to 7)
- What counts as acceptable proof that remedial work is done
- Documentation deadlines and what you must send tenants and councils
- Can you let or re-let a property with an unsatisfactory EICR?
- Handling tenant access problems and repair delays
- Your EICR compliance checklist, from report to certificate
- What landlords get wrong about unsatisfactory EICRs
- How 777pcm handles your remedial work and paperwork
- Sources
What makes an EICR 'unsatisfactory': decoding C1, C2, C3 and FI
Every code on your report carries a different weight, and only one of them is optional. A C1 means danger is present right now: exposed live parts, damaged wiring near water, that sort of thing. A C2 flags something potentially dangerous, a fault that will become a C1 if left alone. FI means the electrician could not confirm safety without further investigation, often because access was limited during the inspection. C3 simply recommends an improvement; it does not condemn the installation.
The pass/fail logic set out in government guidance on electrical safety standards is unforgiving: a single C1, C2 or FI anywhere on the schedule makes the whole report unsatisfactory, even if every other circuit is fine.
- C1 example: a socket outlet with exposed conductors in a kitchen.
- C2 example: an old consumer unit lacking modern RCD protection.
- FI example: an inspector unable to test a circuit behind boxed-in furniture.
- C3 example: absence of circuit labelling, worth fixing but not urgent.
What to do first after an unsatisfactory EICR (days 0 to 7)
Speed matters here, and the order of operations depends entirely on the code you are dealing with.
- Read the schedule properly. Identify which circuits carry C1, C2 or FI codes before you call anyone, so you brief the electrician with the right urgency.
- C1 defects: act immediately. Isolate the affected circuit if it is safe to do so and instruct an emergency electrician the same day. Government guidance treats C1 as requiring action without delay.
- C2 defects: book urgent remedial work inside the 28-day statutory period, or the shorter timescale the report specifies.
- FI codes: commission the further investigation promptly. Treat the property as unsatisfactory until that investigation resolves the query one way or the other.
- Log everything. Note the date the report arrived, the date you instructed the electrician, and confirm the appointment to your tenant in writing.
That paper trail matters more than most landlords assume, and it becomes the backbone of your defence if a local authority ever asks questions.
What counts as acceptable proof that remedial work is done
You do not always need a brand new EICR to close out an unsatisfactory result, which surprises a lot of landlords who assume the whole inspection has to be repeated.
The work itself must be carried out by a qualified person, someone competent to the standard set out in IET Guidance Note 3 and BS 7671, the industry framework that underpins how EICR coding works in the first place. Once the fix is done, several forms of evidence can satisfy the regulations:
- Written confirmation from the electrician describing the work carried out.
- An Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) for new circuit work.
- A Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate (MEIWC) for smaller, targeted repairs.
- A full replacement EICR, but only when the scope of remedial work genuinely warrants a fresh inspection.
Government guidance confirms that a targeted certificate or clear written confirmation is commonly accepted in place of a full retest, provided it matches the scope of the original defects.
Pro Tip: Keep the electrician's written confirmation and the original unsatisfactory schedule together in one file. If a housing officer or a new tenant ever queries the property's history, you want both documents to hand in seconds, not searching through email threads.
Documentation deadlines and what you must send tenants and councils
Three separate 28-day clocks run in parallel once an unsatisfactory EICR lands on your desk, and mixing them up is one of the more common compliance mistakes.
- Supply the EICR itself to existing tenants within 28 days of the inspection.
- Supply written confirmation of completed remedial work to tenants within 28 days of that work finishing.
- Supply copies to the local housing authority within 28 days if they request them, though submitting proactively once work is confirmed avoids any risk of missing a request altogether.
Local authorities in England have direct enforcement powers under the Electrical Safety Standards Regulations 2020. Non-compliance can trigger a remedial notice, and in the most serious cases the council can arrange the work itself and recover the cost, on top of a civil penalty up to the statutory maximum. The NRLA's guidance makes the same point from a landlord's perspective: enforcement problems almost always trace back to gaps in recordkeeping rather than genuinely unsafe wiring.
Can you let or re-let a property with an unsatisfactory EICR?
For an existing tenancy, the priority is safety first and remediation second, following the code-based timescales already set out. For a prospective tenant, the answer is simpler and more conservative: do not hand over keys until remedial work is confirmed in writing.
- An unsatisfactory EICR means the installation has a defect requiring correction, not a green light with caveats.
- If letting is genuinely unavoidable before work completes, put temporary safety measures in place and get written sign-off from the electrician before anyone moves in.
- Treat "we'll sort the C2 next month" as a red flag in your own process, not just a tenant's.
Best practice for certified electricians managing rental portfolios leans firmly towards resolving every code before a tenancy starts, not after.
Handling tenant access problems and repair delays
Real properties rarely cooperate with statutory timescales, so build a documented process before you need one.
- Send a written access request by email or recorded delivery, proposing at least two alternative appointment times.
- Follow up in writing again if there is no response within a few days, keeping a dated copy of each attempt.
- Offer flexible slots, including evenings or weekends, since refusal often stems from scheduling clashes rather than genuine objection.
- Escalate to a formal notice referencing the tenancy agreement if access is still refused after two written requests.
- Log every contractor delay (parts on order, specialist sub-contractor needed) with dates, so a stalled repair reads as managed, not ignored.
A documented run of formal access requests across roughly a two-week window is generally treated as evidence of "reasonable steps" if a local authority ever scrutinises the delay.
Your EICR compliance checklist, from report to certificate
Use this sequence every time an unsatisfactory report lands, and file the outputs as you go rather than retrospectively.
- Read the full schedule and highlight every C1, C2 and FI line.
- Prioritise by severity: C1 same day, C2 and FI within 28 days or sooner.
- Instruct a qualified electrician and confirm the appointment in writing.
- Notify the tenant of the finding and the planned remedial date.
- Obtain written confirmation, EIC or MEIWC once work is complete.
- File copies to the tenant and, if requested, the local housing authority, both within 28 days of completion.
A sample log entry might read: "12 March: C2 identified on kitchen ring circuit. Electrician booked 15 March. Work completed 17 March, written confirmation received and filed."
| Milestone | Deadline | Document to file |
|---|---|---|
| Inspection completed | Day 0 | Original EICR schedule |
| Emergency/urgent work booked | Days 1 to 7 | Written booking confirmation |
| Remedial work completed | Within 28 days (or sooner) | EIC, MEIWC or written confirmation |
| Confirmation sent to tenant | Within 28 days of completion | Copy of tenant notification |
| Confirmation sent to authority (if requested) | Within 28 days of completion | Copy of submission |
What landlords get wrong about unsatisfactory EICRs
Most enforcement trouble I see does not come from dangerous wiring left untouched. It comes from landlords who fix the fault quickly, then fail to write any of it down. A verbal assurance from an electrician that "it's all sorted" is worthless to a housing officer six months later.
The second recurring mistake is treating an FI code as low priority because it sounds administrative rather than dangerous. It carries exactly the same statutory weight as a C2, and delaying the investigation just extends the period during which your property is technically non-compliant.
These two problems, poor documentation and delayed scheduling, are entirely preventable with the right structure. Having certified electricians on hand can help ensure remedial work is booked against the statutory clock rather than a subcontractor's diary, and a compliance portal keeps every certificate and confirmation letter in one place, ready for a tenant query or a council request. A managed workflow like that does not remove your legal duty, but it does remove most of the administrative friction that turns a fixable fault into a penalty.
— Mike
How 777pcm handles your remedial work and paperwork
If you would rather not chase electricians, tenants and deadlines across a spreadsheet, 777pcm gives you a direct alternative to coordinating remedial work yourself. Instead of sourcing a contractor, verifying their qualifications and hoping the written confirmation arrives before your 28 days run out, you get in-house certified electricians who carry out the fix and issue the paperwork as part of one managed job.
Book a job and 777pcm coordinates access with your tenant, completes the remedial work, and issues the written confirmation or certificate the regulations require, then files it through the compliance portal against your property record. That removes the three things landlords most often get wrong: missed deadlines, lost paperwork, and mismatched evidence. For portfolios juggling multiple unsatisfactory reports at once, the same portal also holds your CP12 gas safety certificates and EPC records, so compliance sits in one place rather than three inboxes.
Start by getting your next unsatisfactory EICR resolved properly: visit 777pcm and book the remedial work before your 28-day window closes.