Help is at hand!
When you are looking for a business to carry out notifiable electrical installation in your home, we recommend an ECA Member who is Registered with a ‘Competent Person Scheme’ that meets the requirements of the Building Regulations. An ECA Member who is Registered with a Competent Person Scheme can notify, on your behalf, that electrical work has been carried out in accordance with the Building Regulations, so you don’t have to notify the work yourself.
Your ECA Member electrician will also provide you with the necessary completion certificates when the work is finished. These can be very important indeed when insuring, or even letting or selling, your home.
Useful background: 'Part-P' & 'notifiable' installation
‘Part P’ of the Building Regulations was introduced by the government in 2005 to protect people from fire and electrical hazards. To confirm that electrical work in your home meets the necessary safety standards, ‘notifiable’ work must either:
- be signed off by an electrician registered with a ‘Competent Person Scheme’; or
- notified directly to your Local Building Control Department.
Electrical work that is notifiable to Local Building Control includes:
- installing a new circuit
- replacing a consumer unit (e.g. fuse box) or
- altering circuits in some ‘special locations’ (e.g. a bathroom - where water might otherwise contact electrical installations, increasing the risk of electric shock).
Electrical testing and inspection are examples of work that is not usually notifiable.
To find out more about ‘Part P’ of the Building Regulations, which applies in England and Wales, visit www.gov.uk/government/publications/electrical-safety-approved-document-p