His brother Otto was Bishop of Münster from 1392 to 1424, and from 1410 to 1424 also administrator of Osnabrück Eric inherited Upper Hoya in 1377.
He expanded the county to the south, at the expense of the Bishopric of Minden.
Bishop Wittekind II of Minden destroyed this castle a short time later.
Eric retaliated by destroying Fischer, a suburb of Minden.
In 1390, Eric married Helen, a daughter of Duke Magnus II Torquatus of Brunswick-Lüneburg.