Electrical safety under the updated building regulations

Electrical safety under the updated building regulations

What the changes mean

Changes in the building regulations mean that from 1st January 2005, for the first time, all electrical work carried out in homes, must be notified to a building control body to ensure that they comply with the new Part P of the building regulations.

Every year on average 10 people die, and about 750 are seriously injured in accidents involving unsafe electrical installations in the home.  Risks could increase in the future as more and more people buy electrical appliances and carry out alterations to their homes.

The notification must be made before work starts, unless it is to be carried out by a prescribed 'competent person', who is on an approved register and who is capable of 'self-certifying' their own work.

Small jobs such as replacing a socket-outlet or a light switch on an existing circuit will not need to be notified to a building control body (although there will be some exceptions for 'high risk' areas such as kitchens and bathrooms).

All electrical work that involves adding a new circuit to a home including addition of new socket-outlets and lighting points to existing circuits in kitchens, bathrooms, shower rooms, and work in other special locations and installations  will need to be EITHER notified to your local building control office, which will then inspect and ensure that they comply with the requirements of Part P of the Building Regulations, OR be carried out by a competent person who is registered with a Part P Self Certification Scheme (see details below).

Apart from possibly being a safety risk, it will make any further sale of your property difficult if you cannot prove that electrical work has been done legally and all the necessary certification has been obtained.

Further information on registered prescribed competent persons (i.e those who are able to self-certify their work for Part P compliance) and other approved electrical contractors can be found on the following web sites

www.brecertification.co.uk  www.elecsa.org.uk  www.niceic.org.uk  www.bsi-global.com  www.zurich.co.uk  

IF YOU ARE UNSURE WHETHER THE WORK YOU WANT TO DO WILL NEED TO BE NOTIFIED, OR YOU WOULD LIKE CLARIFICATION OF ANYTHING MENTIONED ABOVE PLEASE DO NOT HESITATE TO CONTACT THE BUILDING CONTROL DUTY OFFICER ON 0208 753 3387.