Short answer: a leasehold flat needs its own EICR, covering everything from the flat’s consumer unit onwards. The freeholder’s certificate for the block does not cover your flat, and your flat’s certificate does not cover the block. If you let the flat out, the 2020 Electrical Safety Regulations make the flat EICR your legal duty as landlord — every 5 years, copy to tenants within 28 days, civil penalties up to £40,000 per breach since the Renters’ Rights Act took effect on 1 May 2026. The communal areas (stairwell lighting, risers, lateral mains, door entry, lift, car park) are the freeholder’s or management company’s duty and are paid for through the service charge. F & A Electrical does flat EICRs across North and East London from £140 and communal-area EICRs for managing agents and RMCs, all labour-only, NICEIC registered, 9.32/10 from 242 reviews. Call 07407 627542 or WhatsApp.
Where your flat ends and the landlord’s supply begins
Every leasehold flat has a boundary called the demise — the part of the building you own and are responsible for. Electrically, the demise almost always starts at the flat’s consumer unit (fuse board) or, in older blocks, at the meter tail into the flat. Everything from that point inwards is yours: the board, every circuit, sockets, lights, cooker and shower supplies. Everything before that point — the incoming main, the riser cupboard, the lateral mains along the corridor, the landlord’s meter, the communal lighting and fire-alarm circuits — is the landlord’s supply and belongs to the freeholder (or the Right-to-Manage / resident management company standing in the freeholder’s shoes).
| Item | Whose responsibility | Which EICR covers it |
|---|---|---|
| Flat consumer unit and all circuits inside the flat | Leaseholder | Flat EICR (from £140) |
| Meter tails from the meter into the flat | Usually leaseholder — check the lease plan | Flat EICR (noted as a limitation if inaccessible) |
| Riser cupboard, lateral mains, landlord’s intake | Freeholder / RMC | Communal-area EICR |
| Stair, corridor and external lighting | Freeholder / RMC | Communal-area EICR |
| Door-entry, CCTV, lift, pumps, car-park supplies | Freeholder / RMC | Communal-area EICR |
| Communal fire alarm and emergency lighting | Freeholder / RMC (Fire Safety Order duty) | Separate BS 5839 / BS 5266 certificates, not an EICR |
| Storage heaters, electric showers, cookers inside the flat | Leaseholder | Flat EICR (fixed equipment only — portable items are PAT) |
Who pays for what
The flat EICR is paid by whoever holds the lease. If you live in the flat, there is no legal requirement to have one — but a mortgage lender, an insurer or a buyer’s solicitor will often ask, and the EICR itself is cheap insurance against a rewire you didn’t see coming. If you let the flat, it is a legal requirement and the cost is yours; it is an allowable expense against rental income. Some managing agents offer to organise flat EICRs for the whole block in one visit — that is usually the cheapest route and we do those block bookings, but the invoice still goes to each leaseholder, not the service charge.
The communal-area EICR is paid through the service charge. The freeholder or RMC commissions it (typically every 5 years, in line with BS 7671 guidance for communal areas of residential buildings) and recovers the cost from all leaseholders under the lease’s repair and maintenance provisions. If you are a leaseholder being asked to contribute, that is normal; if you are a director of an RMC being told the block has never had one, treat it as urgent — the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 makes the responsible person liable for the electrical condition of common parts, and an insurer can refuse a fire claim where there is no evidence of inspection.
Remedial work follows the same split. A C1 or C2 inside the flat is the leaseholder’s cost (from £108 labour-only — see our remedial cost guide). A C1 or C2 on the landlord’s supply goes back to the agent and onto the service charge. Where a fault sits on the boundary (a corroded meter tail, a missing main earth to the flat) we say so in writing so nobody pays for the other side’s problem.
Leasehold flat EICR prices in London, 2026 (labour-only)
| Report | Typical scope | Price from |
|---|---|---|
| Flat EICR — studio to 2-bed | Up to 8 circuits | £140 |
| Flat EICR — 3-bed or larger / duplex | 9–12 circuits | £140 |
| Block booking — 4+ flats, same visit | Per flat | £120 per flat |
| Communal-area EICR — small block (up to 12 flats) | Landlord’s board + lighting + door entry | £140 |
| Communal-area EICR — larger block / multiple risers | Priced per distribution board and circuit count | Fixed quote after a 15-minute site look |
| Remedial work (C1/C2/FI) | Per item, quoted before starting | £108 |
| Consumer unit replacement in the flat | RCBO board, SPD, certificate | £450 |
Every figure is labour-only with materials at trade cost — the same rule as our London EICR cost guide. Minimum charge on any visit is £108 (£90 + VAT). No “unsatisfactory” surprise: we tell you the likely codes before you commit to any remedials.
What if the communal supply is unsafe and it affects my flat?
This is the most common leasehold dispute we see. A flat EICR can only report on what the electrician can test, so if the flat has no main earth because the landlord’s supply lacks one (very common in 1960s–70s blocks converted from TN-S to something nobody documented), the flat report will carry a C2 or FI on the earthing arrangement and be marked unsatisfactory — even though the fault isn’t inside your demise. The fix is the freeholder’s, and you should send them the report with the observation highlighted. Under the 2020 Regulations a landlord-leaseholder must still make “reasonable efforts” to get it resolved within 28 days; a dated letter to the managing agent is the evidence you keep. Our C1/C2/C3 codes guide explains what each code means for a re-test.
Leaseholders who let their flat: the 2026 rules
If your flat has tenants on an assured (now periodic) tenancy, you are the landlord for electrical-safety purposes regardless of the freeholder above you. That means: an EICR before the tenancy starts and at least every 5 years; a copy to the tenant within 28 days and to the council within 7 days if asked; remedials completed within 28 days of an unsatisfactory report with written confirmation to the tenant; and, since 1 May 2026, civil penalties of up to £40,000 per breach under the Renters’ Rights Act. Our landlord EICR page and compliance checklist cover the full list. If the flat is a licensed HMO or used as a short-term let, the rules shift slightly and those pages explain how.
For RMC directors and managing agents
A communal-area EICR is a commercial-style periodic inspection on the landlord’s installation: every distribution board, lighting circuit, door-entry supply, lift and pump supply, plus the main earthing and bonding for the building. We issue it on the standard NICEIC form with a schedule of circuits per board, which is what your insurer and fire-risk assessor want to see. Where the block also needs emergency-lighting and fire-alarm certificates we can do them on the same visit under the commercial electrician side of the business. Block-wide flat EICRs in the same week bring the per-flat price down to £120, and each leaseholder gets their own certificate and invoice so service-charge accounting stays clean. Typical blocks we cover: canalside new-builds and estates in Hackney (see Haggerston), 1930s mansion blocks in Haringey and Islington, and Victorian houses in four to six flats across North London.
Frequently asked questions
Does the freeholder’s EICR cover my flat?
No. A communal-area EICR stops at the landlord’s supply. Your flat needs its own report from the consumer unit onwards. If a managing agent tells you “the block has a certificate,” ask whether it lists your flat’s circuits — it almost never does.
I own the flat and live in it. Do I legally need an EICR?
No legal duty applies to owner-occupiers. Lenders, insurers and buyers frequently ask for one, and an EICR at £140 is far cheaper than discovering a rewire during a sale. Every 10 years is the usual recommendation for owner-occupied flats.
Who pays for the communal EICR in a block of flats?
The freeholder or RMC commissions it and recovers the cost through the service charge under the lease. Leaseholders contribute in their usual proportion; it is a legitimate charge and cannot normally be refused.
Can you do the whole block in one visit?
Yes — communal areas plus every flat, with separate certificates and invoices. Block bookings of 4+ flats are £120 per flat labour-only. Access is arranged through the agent so tenants and owners are disturbed once, not five times.
My flat EICR failed because of the block’s earthing. Can I still let it?
You must not start a new tenancy without a satisfactory report, and for an existing tenancy you must make reasonable efforts to get the fault fixed within 28 days. Send the report to the freeholder in writing immediately; once they fix the supply we re-test the earthing and issue a satisfactory report, usually from £108.
Is a communal EICR the same as a fire-alarm or emergency-lighting certificate?
No. Those are separate inspections under BS 5839 and BS 5266. A communal EICR covers the fixed wiring only; the fire-risk assessment will usually ask for all three.
Related: London EICR cost guide, landlord EICRs, remedial work costs, Renters’ Rights Act and EICRs, all service areas.
Docklands blocks: see electrician for Poplar & Isle of Dogs E14 for block-booking EICRs in Canary Wharf towers and estates.