EICR Codes Explained: What C1, C2, C3 Actually Mean | KT

A landlord in Luton got his EICR back, saw four codes he didn't understand, filed it in a drawer, and got on with his week. Two of those codes carried a 28-day legal deadline. He found out when the council's remedial notice arrived, not from the report itself.

What Do the Four Codes Actually Mean?

The confusion that catches landlords out is treating all four as equally serious, or worse, treating none of them as urgent because "the property passed." An EICR with a C3 only can still come back as an overall satisfactory report. One with a single C2 cannot, and that C2 carries a hard legal clock the moment the report lands in your inbox, whether you've read it yet or not.

What Actually Triggers the 28-Day Clock?

Under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020, a landlord must ensure any C1, C2 or FI observation is investigated or remedied by a qualified person within 28 days of the report, or sooner if the report specifies a shorter timeframe for a genuinely dangerous fault. That deadline runs from the date of the report, not from whenever you get round to reading it, which is exactly what caught out the Luton landlord.

What Happens If You Miss the Deadline?

The local authority can serve a remedial notice, and if you don't comply, they can arrange the work themselves and recover the cost from you, on top of imposing a financial penalty. As of 1 May 2026, that penalty rose to a maximum of £40,000 per breach, up from the previous £30,000 cap, and a council can issue separate penalties for separate breaches on the same property. You have the right to make written representations against a Notice of Intent and, ultimately, to appeal to the First-tier Tribunal, but that's a far more expensive and stressful route than simply booking the remedial work inside the 28 days.

This is a genuine trade opinion rather than a legal requirement: treat the 28 days as 14. Booking an electrician, getting them on site, and having them confirm the remedial work in writing rarely happens same-day, and a landlord who starts the process on day 25 is gambling with a deadline they can't control the electrician's diary against.

Which Faults Actually Generate a C2 in Practice?

From what turns up most often on older HMO and rental stock: missing or inadequate earth bonding, an outdated consumer unit without RCD protection on socket circuits, damaged or cracked accessories, and inadequate socket provision leading to extension lead overload. None of these are exotic faults. They're the kind of thing that accumulates in a property that's been let for years without a proper refurb, which is exactly why the five-yearly EICR cycle exists in the first place.

If you're planning ahead of an inspection rather than reacting to one, our How Many Sockets Per Room in the UK? guide covers the specific socket-provision issue that generates a large share of these observations.

What Does Fixing a Typical C2 Actually Cost?

This varies hugely by fault, which is exactly why treating all C2s the same is a mistake in the other direction too. Replacing a cracked or scorched double socket is a low-cost, same-visit fix. Upgrading an old consumer unit to add RCD protection is a bigger job, commonly running into several hundred pounds depending on the circuit count, but it's a one-off cost against a £40,000 maximum penalty and, more importantly, against the actual fire and shock risk the code was raised for in the first place.

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