Failed a landlord safety check? What happens next

A failed landlord safety check starts a repair job with a deadline. Under the Electrical Safety Standards Regulations 2020, the work an EICR requires must be done within 28 days of the inspection, or sooner if the report says so, then confirmed in writing. A gas appliance classed Immediately Dangerous or At Risk must stay off until repaired. Checked October 2026.

We are EliteShires Property Services. We carry out landlord certificates in Harrow, Kenton, Stanmore and Edgware, and we also do the repairs that follow them. This guide follows a fail from the finding to the closed file, for each check in turn. Each section links to the service page that owns the detail, and names the deeper guide in this series that covers it; those guides publish over the coming weeks. For the full list of certificates a landlord needs, start with our landlord certificates checklist.

What counts as a "fail" for each landlord check?

Only the EICR gives the whole installation a formal verdict, satisfactory or unsatisfactory. The other checks record defects item by item, and the law then tells you what to do about them. That difference changes your deadline and your paperwork, so it is worth knowing which kind of "fail" you have.

What a fail means for each landlord check in England (checked October 2026)

What should you do in the first 24 hours after a fail?

Start by making sure nothing dangerous is in use, then get the fix priced against the actual findings. A common delay is waiting for the written report before calling anyone. The 28-day EICR clock starts on the day of the inspection, not the day you read the report.

1. Find out what was made safe on the day. An electrical inspector may make a C1 hazard safe before leaving, according to GOV.UK guidance. A gas engineer will try to fix an ID or AR fault on the visit. If they can't, the appliance is disconnected or turned off with consent.
2. Tell the tenant what not to use, in writing. Under regulation 34 of the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998, the responsible person for the premises, usually the occupier, must not use or allow the use of a gas appliance they know or suspect is dangerous. Ask the tenant to leave any "DANGER DO NOT USE" label in place.
3. Ask for a quote itemised against each code or classification. It should separate what the law requires from what is only recommended. A C3 on an EICR is an improvement recommendation, so it does not need fixing for the report to be satisfactory.
4. Book the work early. Parts such as replacement consumer units and some gas appliance components may need ordering, so book before the final week.
5. Diary the paperwork date. For EICR remedials a second 28-day clock starts when the work is finished.

Gas: what happens when an appliance is unsafe?

An unsafe gas appliance is classified by the engineer as Immediately Dangerous or At Risk under the Gas Industry Unsafe Situations Procedure (IGEM/G/11, Edition 2, amended July 2025). Both normally get a "DANGER DO NOT USE" label and a written warning notice. In a few At Risk cases where turning off would not remove the risk, the engineer issues the notice without a label and tells you who to contact. An ID appliance is disconnected and sealed with consent, and an AR appliance is usually turned off.

If someone refuses to let an ID appliance be disconnected, the engineer contacts the gas emergency service. The full sequence is in our guide to gas appliances marked Immediately Dangerous or At Risk.

Repairs to the appliance itself must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Pipework, radiators and valves on the water side of the heating are ordinary plumbing, which our plumbing repairs cover. Once the appliance is safe, the follow-up goes on the record from your annual gas safety check.

Electrics: what does an unsatisfactory EICR start?

An unsatisfactory EICR starts a 28-day clock for the remedial work, counted from the inspection, or a shorter period if the report sets one. The duty comes from regulation 3 of the Electrical Safety Standards Regulations 2020. Since 1 November 2025 a council can fine up to £40,000 per breach (SI 2025/1043). The maximum was £30,000 before that date, and older guides still quote it.

The fix is usually narrower than landlords fear. Reports often fail on a small set of findings, such as missing RCD protection, missing main bonding or a damaged accessory. Our guide to the most common C2 findings explains each one. When a board is involved, read when a rental needs a new consumer unit before agreeing to anything larger.

Our electricians for EICR remedial work carry out the remedial work, and you are free to use another contractor. What each code means stays on our landlord EICR page. Every job ends with a certificate: an Electrical Installation Certificate for new work such as a consumer unit, or a Minor Works Certificate for smaller alterations. GOV.UK lists both, or a new satisfactory EICR, as acceptable written confirmation.

Appliances: what if PAT items fail?

A failed PAT item is either repaired and retested or taken out of use. There is no fixed legal deadline because private landlords in England have no statutory PAT duty. HSE confirms there is no legal requirement to test portable appliances, let alone every year. What the law does require is that appliances you supply are safe (GOV.UK).

Faults in the plug, fuse or lead can usually be repaired on the spot and retested. Internal faults are rarely worth repairing. Any licensed property, HMO or selective, carries an extra condition: under Schedule 4 of the Housing Act 2004, the licence holder must keep supplied appliances safe and give the council a declaration of their safety when asked. Our PAT testing visits leave an asset register with each item's result. Our guide to failed PAT items: repair, replace or remove covers the choices item by item.

Water: what if the legionella assessment lists actions?

A legionella risk assessment does not pass or fail. It lists control measures, and you act on them in proportion to the risk. HSE is explicit that the law does not require a "legionella test certificate", and that most landlords can assess a simple domestic system themselves. There is no fixed review interval either.

The actions are plumbing work, such as removing dead legs left by old appliances or correcting the cylinder temperature. Our plumbing repairs cover that work. Our legionella risk assessments leave a dated written assessment on the day. For the detail, see acting on a legionella risk assessment.

In what order should the repairs happen?

Make dangerous things safe first, then do the work with a legal deadline, then everything else. Where two trades touch the same part of the house, book them for the same day. This is the order we recommend when a property has more than one finding.

A few overlaps are common enough to plan for:

• Gas and electrics. Main bonding to the gas and water pipes is checked by both trades. Fix it once and record it on both sets of paperwork.
• Plumbing and electrics. New pipework near the consumer unit or in a bathroom can change what bonding is needed. Do the plumbing first and test afterwards.
• Repairs before redecorating. Chasing in a cable or moving pipework damages plaster. Keep any decorating until after the remedial work is certified.
• Voids. An empty property is the easiest time to do all of it. Our void property checklist puts certificates and repairs in order.

Who gets the paperwork after the repairs?

After electrical remedial work, each existing tenant and the council get the written confirmation and a copy of the report within 28 days of the work finishing. Our guide to the paperwork after EICR remedial work sets out both clocks. For gas, add the repair to the gas safety record (tenants get the record within 28 days of the check). For PAT, record the retest on the asset register.

The planned landlord database will ask for these certificates too, under regulations that were still a draft awaiting Parliament's approval when we checked in October 2026. See what to have ready before registering.

Which council gets the paperwork in Harrow, Kenton, Stanmore and Edgware?

The paperwork goes to the council for the property's address, and in our area that can be Harrow, Brent or Barnet. Kenton is split by Kenton Road, and Edgware's HA8 spans Harrow, Barnet and a small part of Brent. Our guide to licensing in Harrow, Brent and Barnet has the full ward split. Any licensed property carries extra duties: under Schedule 4 of the Housing Act 2004, the licence holder must give the council a gas safety record each year and an electrical safety declaration on request.

Which council gets the paperwork, and what licensing adds (checked October 2026)

Harrow's previous additional HMO scheme for smaller shared houses ended on 5 August 2026. Harrow says a new one has been approved and is due to start on 6 January 2027 (checked 28 October 2026), so check with Harrow if you let a small HMO there. Councils do act on this. In January 2026 Harrow Council announced that an Edgware landlord had been convicted of failing to provide fire safety and electrical certificates, with a total bill of £9,000.

What if the inspector and the repairer disagree?

Ask the repairer to show which coded observations their quote addresses. A C3 does not make an EICR unsatisfactory, and GOV.UK guidance says C3 work is not required for a satisfactory report. If someone tells you a list of C3s means a rewire, get a second opinion. Our electricians in Harrow explain why older terraces usually fail on the board and bonding rather than the wiring.

For gas, the classification is the engineer's judgement on site. You can get a second opinion on the repair, but the appliance must stay off while you do. Never ask an engineer to remove a warning label so the tenant can use the appliance in the meantime.

What does it cost you to leave a fail unfixed?

Leaving a fail unfixed risks a council fine of up to £40,000 per electrical breach, prosecution by HSE for gas breaches, and up to £5,000 for ignoring a remedial notice about smoke or CO alarms. If the defect is serious enough to count as a Category 1 hazard, the council can also issue a civil penalty of up to £7,000, a Renters' Rights Act power now in force (GOV.UK, 8 October 2026). For electrics, the council can also arrange the remedial work itself and recover the cost from you. The alarm duties are set out in our guide to the alarm rules for landlords.

Since 1 May 2026, section 21 no-fault eviction has been abolished, so the old risk of an invalid section 21 notice no longer applies. The risk now is enforcement, and a tenant living with a known defect. Our guide to landlord fines and penalties sets out each penalty, including the £7,000 Category 1 fine, and who enforces it.

Can one firm do the check and the repairs?

Yes. We carry out the checks and the repairs that follow, and you are free to take any of the work elsewhere. Certificates and defined jobs are a fixed price confirmed before we attend. Repairs are charged by the hour, with the rate and an estimate confirmed first. Emergencies are attended the same day in opening hours, Monday to Saturday, and on Sundays we take emergency calls only. We do not do boiler servicing, damp investigation, structural work or roofing, and we will tell you who to call for those.

Book locally: electrician in Harrow, electrician in Kenton, electrician in Stanmore and electrician in Edgware.