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ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS

EICR and PAT retests: keeping long-cycle dates from going quiet

Hamid Aziz ·

An EICR can be five years apart. A spreadsheet doesn’t remind anyone about something five years away. By the time it’s due, the landlord may have changed agents, the tenant may have moved, and the contractor who did the last one is the easiest one to forget.

What the rules set for landlords

In England, the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector Regulations 2020 put these duties on landlords:

  • The installation is inspected and tested at intervals of no more than five years, or sooner if the last report says so.
  • Existing tenants get a copy of the report within 28 days of the inspection.
  • New tenants get a copy before they move in. The local council gets one within seven days if it asks in writing.
  • Remedial or further investigative work goes ahead within 28 days of the inspection, or sooner if the report says so.
  • Once that work is done, written confirmation goes to the tenant and the council within 28 days.

Two things follow for a contractor. First, the next date is whatever the report says, not always five years, so anything that just adds five years gets some properties wrong. Second, the landlord’s 28-day clock on remedial work starts on the day of the test, which makes a slow-moving remedial quote a problem for them as well as lost work for you.

The Quotes register — open pipeline, quotes awaiting a response and one expiring soon — with Kwame Osei's £320 kitchen radiator quote selected: no response in seven days and three days left, with its details, scope and line items in the inspector.
From our demo, set up for a fictional heating firm: a quote with no response after seven days, flagged before it expires.

PAT intervals aren’t fixed

HSE is clear that the law doesn’t make PAT testing, or an annual test, a legal requirement. How often equipment needs checking depends on the equipment and where it’s used. So the right reminder date for each client is the interval agreed at the last test, and the system should store that interval rather than assume twelve months.

What to track per property

  • The date of the last inspection, and the next date as written on the report.
  • Who books the work: the landlord, the agent, or a facilities contact.
  • Any remedial quote, with the 28-day deadline it’s working against.
  • Whether written confirmation of completed work has been sent.

With those four things recorded, reminders, quote chasers and confirmations can go out on their own, and the office only steps in when someone replies. The free certificate renewal tracker is a simple place to start. If you want the follow-ups sent for you, see what we build for electrical contractors.

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