CareHomeDeskCareHomeDeskThe IET has confirmed that care homes operating under CQC registration should treat their EICR cycle as a maximum of five years, irrespective of building age or tenure type.
BS 7671 (IET Wiring Regulations, 18th Edition) does not fix a single mandatory retest interval for every building type -- instead it directs that the maximum period between inspections be determined by a competent person based on the type of installation, its use and the environment. For care homes, IET guidance and widely adopted sector practice treat five years as the maximum acceptable interval, reflecting the heavy, continuous use of electrical systems and the vulnerability of residents. Operators should treat five years as a ceiling, not a target -- higher-risk areas may justify shorter cycles.
A significant number of care homes operate from converted domestic properties or buildings that changed use without a corresponding electrical review. An EICR issued while the building was still classed as a dwelling will typically have been carried out to domestic assumptions about usage patterns and load. Once the building becomes a registered care setting, the installation is subject to more demanding non-domestic inspection criteria, and an old domestic-standard EICR should not be relied upon as evidence of current compliance.
CQC does not prescribe a specific EICR interval in legislation, but inspectors assess electrical safety under Regulation 12 (safe care and treatment) and expect providers to demonstrate that risks are identified and managed. In practice this means a current, in-date EICR is treated as baseline evidence of a well-run service. Insurers increasingly write EICR validity periods into policy conditions, and a lapsed or absent report can be grounds to decline a claim following an electrical incident, regardless of the incident's actual cause.
Some operators assume that a newer building, or one held on a short lease, reduces the urgency of retesting. Neither factor changes the underlying risk picture: new installations still degrade under continuous use, and leased premises carry the same duty on the responsible person under the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 to ensure equipment is maintained in a safe condition. The five-year benchmark should be applied uniformly across a portfolio unless a documented risk assessment justifies a shorter interval.
Maintain a central register recording the date of the last EICR for every site, the classification codes recorded, and evidence that any C1 or C2 observations were remediated. Diarise the renewal date at least three months ahead of expiry to allow time for procurement and remedial works. Where a building's use has changed, or where refurbishment has significantly altered the electrical load, commission a fresh EICR immediately rather than waiting for the five-year cycle to elapse.
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