If you let out a property in Cowplain, you’ve almost certainly heard of the EICR — the Electrical Installation Condition Report every private landlord in England has been legally required to have since June 2020. What’s less well understood is exactly what gets inspected, who enforces it locally, and what actually happens if the report comes back unsatisfactory. Cowplain sits within the Havant Borough Council area, alongside Waterlooville, Purbrook and the rest of the borough, which means the rules and the enforcement route are the same as they are for neighbouring Havant and Waterlooville landlords.
This guide covers what the law actually requires, what a qualified electrician checks during an EICR, what the different observation codes mean, and what the fines look like in 2026 if you fall behind.
What the law actually requires
Under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, landlords with an assured shorthold tenancy, a licence to occupy, or most other standard lets — including HMOs and flats — have three core duties:
- Have the full fixed electrical installation inspected and tested at least every five years by a qualified person, or sooner if a previous report specifies a shorter interval.
- Hold a written EICR report that records the outcome of that inspection.
- Provide a copy to existing tenants within 28 days, to new tenants before they move in, to prospective tenants on written request within 28 days, and to the council within 7 days of a written request.
There’s no grandfathering — this applies whether the tenancy started last month or a decade ago, and whether you own the property outright, through a limited company, or as a leaseholder.
Who enforces this in Cowplain
Cowplain falls under Havant Borough Council, the same authority that covers Havant, Bedhampton, Emsworth, Hayling Island, Purbrook and most of Waterlooville. Havant Borough Council actively checks EICR compliance during routine housing inspections, in response to tenant complaints, and as part of HMO licensing checks, and publishes enforcement outcomes — so non-compliance carries a reputational cost as well as a financial one. We’ve written a fuller breakdown of how enforcement works across the wider area, including Portsmouth and East Hampshire, in our landlord EICR guide for Havant, Waterlooville & Portsmouth.
What an EICR actually inspects
A proper EICR testing isn’t a five-minute look at the fuse board. A qualified electrician carries out both a visual inspection and a full set of dead and live tests, covering:
- The condition of the consumer unit, RCD/RCBO protection and whether it’s adequate for the circuits it serves
- Signs of overheating, damaged accessories, missing covers, or unauthorised DIY additions
- Continuity of protective conductors and ring final circuits, and insulation resistance across every circuit
- Earth fault loop impedance and polarity, with the supply live
- Main and supplementary bonding to gas, water and other extraneous conductive parts
The C1, C2, C3 and FI codes explained
C1 — Danger present. An immediate risk to life. Rare, but requires urgent action — the electrician will usually recommend making the installation safe there and then.
C2 — Potentially dangerous. The most common reason a report fails. Typical examples in Cowplain’s older housing stock: missing RCD protection on socket circuits, no main bonding, or an outdated rewireable fuse board with no earth-leakage protection.
C3 — Improvement recommended. Not a failure. Things like no surge protection device fitted, or bathroom bonding that a modern install would include but isn’t strictly required retrospectively. You don’t need to action a C3 to be compliant.
FI — Further investigation required. Something the electrician couldn’t fully assess in the time available. Counts against the report.
A report is only “unsatisfactory” if it contains a C1, C2 or FI. C3s alone don’t trigger the remedial clock.
The 28-day remedial rule
If your Cowplain property’s EICR comes back unsatisfactory, you have 28 days — or less, if the report specifies — to get the remedial work done and signed off. That evidence then needs to go to your tenant and, if requested, to Havant Borough Council, both within 28 days. It’s worth booking any follow-up work in the first fortnight rather than leaving it to the wire.
What the fines actually look like in 2026
- No EICR on record when the council requests one: penalty of up to £5,000.
- Failure to comply with a formal remedial notice: penalty of up to £30,000.
- Repeat breaches: up to £30,000 per instance, cumulative rather than capped.
There are two other consequences that catch landlords out. A Section 21 notice is invalid if the tenant hasn’t been given a current EICR — so you can’t serve notice on a difficult tenant until it’s sorted. And serious EICR breaches can now fall within the scope of Rent Repayment Orders, where a tenant can claim back up to 12 months’ rent through the First-tier Tribunal.
Cowplain’s housing stock
Cowplain is a mix of post-war semis and terraces along Hart Plain Avenue and the surrounding estate roads, ex-council stock that’s since passed into private hands, and pockets of newer builds towards the Purbrook and Waterlooville borders. The post-war and ex-council properties are the ones we see fail most often on C2s — usually an original rewireable fuse board that’s never been upgraded, or sockets with no RCD protection added when the property was later let out. If your Cowplain EICR flags exactly that, a straightforward consumer unit upgrade is normally the fix, and can often be booked on the same visit as the re-test.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an EICR if my tenancy started before June 2020? Yes. The regulations covered new tenancies from July 2020 and all existing tenancies from April 2021 — there’s no exemption for older tenancies.
Can I use the same electrician for the EICR and any remedial work? Yes, there’s no requirement to use separate people. Using the same electrician who did the inspection is usually faster and cheaper, since they already know the installation.
What if my tenant won’t let the electrician in? Document it — recorded delivery letters and dated emails showing you made reasonable attempts to arrange access. That discharges your obligation even if the inspection doesn’t happen on schedule.
Is a C3-only report compliant? Yes. A report with only C3 observations (or none at all) is satisfactory and needs no follow-up action, though it’s often worth addressing C3s at your own pace to future-proof the installation.
Book your Cowplain EICR
Our NAPIT-registered electricians cover Cowplain, Waterlooville, Havant and the surrounding area, with same-day certificate delivery and clear, fixed pricing on both the inspection and any remedial work. We also offer bulk pricing for landlords with more than one property. If the report flags a fuse board that needs replacing, our team can quote for that on the same visit — see our fuse board upgrade page for typical pricing, or get in touch for a fixed-price EICR quote and a booking slot to suit your tenant.