There isn't one universal expiry date printed on an EICR. How long it stays valid depends on what the property is used for, and the inspector has the final say if the installation itself argues for something shorter.
Five years for a rented home
A private landlord in England has to have the fixed wiring inspected and tested at least every five years. That is a maximum, not a target — if the report itself recommends a shorter interval, that recommendation takes priority over the standard five years.
Ten years for the one you live in
There is no legal deadline for a home you own and live in yourself. The wiring regulations suggest roughly ten years as a sensible interval for a normal domestic installation. An older property, a house that has had work done on it by more than one set of hands over the years, or one that has never been checked at all, is a case for going sooner rather than waiting out the ten years by default.
Why the report can shorten that itself
The inspector records a recommended date for the next inspection on the report, and it is allowed to be shorter than the standard interval — an installation with older cabling or a heavier-than-usual load might get a three or five-year recommendation even though nothing on it failed. That recommendation is what actually governs when the next one is due, not the five or ten-year rule of thumb.
Do you need a new one for a new tenant?
Not automatically. What the regulations actually require is that a new tenant is given a copy of the current report before they move in. If that report is still within its recommended interval and still satisfactory, it covers the new tenancy — you do not need to commission a fresh inspection every time a property changes hands, only when the existing report has run out or comes back unsatisfactory.
How long the inspection itself takes
That is a separate question from how long the report lasts. The visit itself runs to a few hours for a typical flat and can take the better part of a day for a larger house with more circuits — it depends on how many circuits there are and how easy the electrician's access to them is, not on the size of the property alone.
If you are unsure, it is always cheaper to ask than to guess. Give us a call and we will tell you straight.