Compulsory EICR's should be brought in immediately for all homes, be they privately owned or rented in my opinion. But at the moment although by law, a landlord must ensure that electrical installations and wiring are maintained in a safe condition throughout the tenancy, that doesn't actually mean they have to use a Periodic inspection, EICR, as the means of ensuring safety. They can choose to use whatever method they see fit. It is only when someone is injured and there is an investigations or claim of negligence etc. that the landlord will need some form of industry recognised electrical condition report to prove they have taken all reasonable steps to meet their obligations to the safety of their tenants. Any half decent landlord will already be doing routine inspection and testing as per BS7671. But legally they could use other methods and unfortunately, as many of us who do inspection and testing as one of our jobs roles will know, far too many landlords are happy to rely on a visual inspection (or a drive-by inspection), for £50 and half hours labour, thinking this will meet their legal obligations! I must also add that in my opinion any tenant considering renting a property without asking to see a copy of a current inspection report for all the electrical circuits in the property is a bit naive about the potential dangers dodgy electrics can introduce.
Doc H.