Most landlords we speak to in York understand that they need an electrical certificate. What catches people out is that the certificate they have covers the wiring in the walls, while the council is also asking about the microwave, the vacuum cleaner and the washer-dryer. Those are two separate jobs, done by different people, on different clocks, and one does not stand in for the other.
What the 2020 regulations actually require
The Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 apply to almost every private tenancy in York and across North Yorkshire. Under regulation 3, every fixed electrical installation has to be inspected and tested at least every five years by a qualified person, and the resulting report goes to each tenant within 28 days, to a new tenant before they move in, and to the local housing authority within seven days of a request. If the report flags further investigative or remedial work, that work has to be done within 28 days or sooner if the report says so. Local authorities can serve a remedial notice and impose a financial penalty of up to £30,000 for a breach, which is a strong incentive to keep the paperwork in date rather than in a drawer somewhere.
What the EICR leaves out
An EICR assesses the installation as defined by BS 7671: the consumer unit, circuits, sockets, switches, light fittings and hard-wired items like an electric shower or extractor fan. A washing machine plugged into a socket sits outside that scope. So does the kettle, the toaster, the fridge freezer, the tumble dryer, the vacuum you leave in the cupboard under the stairs, the lamps, the extension leads and the microwave. An electrician doing an EICR will unplug those to test the circuit, and they will not test the appliance itself.
The duty on those items comes from elsewhere. Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires you to keep installations for the supply of electricity in repair and proper working order, the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016 require equipment supplied in the course of a business to be safe, and category 1 electrical hazards under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System give councils a route to enforce on a property that is not. None of those name portable appliance testing as the method. Testing with a calibrated instrument and keeping a signed asset register is simply the easiest way to show you checked, which matters most when something has gone wrong and an insurer or an environmental health officer asks what evidence you hold.
What York and North Yorkshire councils ask to see
For a licensable HMO, the question stops being philosophical. City of York Council's HMO licensing application guidance asks for a gas safety record dated within the last 12 months, an electrical safety certificate dated within the last five years, and a portable appliance test report dated within the last two years for appliances supplied with the property. If you are renewing a licence on a student house in Fishergate, Heworth or Badger Hill and you only have the EICR, the application is short a document.
North Yorkshire Council took over licensing for the old Harrogate, Scarborough, Selby, Craven, Hambleton, Richmondshire and Ryedale districts in 2023, and licence conditions on appliance safety vary by property and by the officer's assessment. Read the conditions attached to your own licence rather than assuming the York wording applies. Where a condition specifies annual testing, annual is what you need, whatever a general frequency table suggests.
Timing the two around a changeover
York's rental year is unusually concentrated, with a large share of student tenancies turning over in late June through August. That gap is the sensible window for appliance testing, because the house is empty, everything is accessible, and a failed toaster can be replaced before anyone needs it. The IET Code of Practice for In-service Inspection and Testing of Electrical Equipment, now in its 5th edition, sets initial intervals on risk rather than on a fixed legal cycle, and for furnished lets a check at each changeover tends to line up with both licence conditions and common sense.
An appliance test on a three or four bedroom furnished house is usually under an hour of work, and we price by visit length rather than per item, from £50 for up to an hour. If you hold several properties in the city, grouping them into a half day at £125 or a full day at £250 is cheaper per house than booking them one at a time. We cover York and the surrounding North Yorkshire villages from the York branch, and holiday lets start at £50 for a single property.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is PAT testing a legal requirement for landlords in York?
No single law names portable appliance testing as a landlord duty, but you do have to make sure any appliance you supply is safe, under section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 and the Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016. For licensable HMOs it becomes a paperwork requirement: City of York Council's HMO licensing guidance asks for a portable appliance test report dated within the last two years covering appliances supplied with the property. Testing and keeping an asset register is the most straightforward way to evidence that duty.
Does an EICR cover the washing machine and other appliances?
No. An EICR assesses the fixed electrical installation under BS 7671, meaning the consumer unit, circuits, sockets, switches, light fittings and hard-wired items such as an electric shower. Anything that plugs into a socket, including washing machines, fridges, kettles and vacuum cleaners, is outside its scope and needs separate in-service inspection and testing.
How often does a rented property in North Yorkshire need an EICR?
At least every five years, under the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020. You must give a copy of the report to existing tenants within 28 days, to any new tenant before they occupy the property, and to the local housing authority within seven days if it asks. Any remedial or further investigative work identified in the report has to be completed within 28 days, or sooner if the report specifies a shorter period.
Do I have to test appliances my tenants brought with them?
Your duty covers equipment you supply, so a tenant's own kettle or games console is generally their responsibility rather than yours. In an HMO it is worth testing items in shared areas even if their ownership is unclear, because a hazard in a communal kitchen is something the council can enforce against you. Some landlords include tenant-owned items in the visit anyway, since the cost is the same when we are charging for time rather than per appliance.
What happens if I cannot produce a valid EICR when the council asks?
The local housing authority can serve a remedial notice requiring the work, and if you fail to comply it can arrange the work itself and recover the cost, or impose a financial penalty of up to £30,000 for a breach of the 2020 regulations. For a licensable HMO, missing electrical paperwork can also hold up or jeopardise the licence application. Keeping the report and the appliance records together in one file per property makes a request from an officer a five-minute job.