The law on landlord electrical certificates in Scotland
Under the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 and the associated Repairing Standard, a private landlord in Scotland must:
- Have an EICR carried out on the property at least every 5 years by a competent electrician.
- Provide a copy of the EICR to the tenant at the start of the tenancy (or before, if requested).
- Test any appliances they provide as part of the let (PAT test).
- Ensure interlinked smoke, heat and CO alarms are fitted and working.
If the EICR is unsatisfactory, we’ll discuss the findings with you, explain the recommended remedial work and provide a quotation where required.
What happens if you don't have one
The First-tier Tribunal (Housing and Property Chamber) can enforce compliance if a tenant complains and the landlord can't produce an EICR. Sanctions range from a repair order to a rent reduction to (in the worst cases) landlord registration being revoked. Most tenants don't complain — most councils don't check — but the risk sits there until you have the cert in your file.
The bigger practical risk: if you claim on your landlord insurance after an electrical fire, and you can't produce an in-date EICR, the insurer will almost certainly refuse the claim.
HMOs — different rules
HMOs (Houses in Multiple Occupation) are licensed separately by the council and have their own electrical requirements — usually a shorter test cycle (typically annual PAT, EICR at licence renewal), plus emergency lighting and fire alarm system testing. We do HMOs but they're priced individually — ring us or drop an email and we'll come out for a look.
