Consumers Guide To Part P
How To Save Yourself Money, Time And Hassle With New Domestic Home Improvement Laws That Require A Professional to Certify Most Electrical Work
A Consumers Guide To Part P Of The Building Regulations
Each year, on average, 10 people die and around 750 are injured in accidents involving unsafe electrical installations in the home. In addition to this, 2,336 house fires were caused by faulty installations in 2003.
In the future, risks could well increase as rising consumer ownership of portable and fixed electrical appliances causes extra demand for extensions and alterations to existing electrical installations.
The risks posed by unsafe electrical installations and portable appliances are electric shock, burns and other injuries arising from fires in buildings ignited by electrical components overheating or building up dangerous currents causing 'arcing'. Installations that are properly designed, fitted, tested and commissioned in accordance with British Standard BS 7671 (a requirement of Part P) will help minimise these risks.
The IEE Wiring Regulations is the British standard that covers the safe design, installation and testing of electrical installations in building systems. It is the technical standard specified, almost universally, in UK contracts for electrical installation work. It is also the basis for the approved technical guidance to meet the electrical requirements of the Building Regulations so it is for this reason that a Competent Person will issue you with a BS 7671 certificate on completion of any work.
Part P is a new part of the Building Regulations which has been introduced by government and affects all electrical work carried out in dwellings.
People carrying out electrical work in homes and gardens in England and Wales should follow the rules set out in Part P of the Building Regulations to ensure that they are complying with the law. These rules are designed to ensure that electrical work is safe.
Part P has been introduced in order to:
* reduce the number of deaths, injuries and fires caused by faulty electrical installations
* make life harder for 'cowboys' to leave electrical installations in an unsafe condition
A 'Competent Person' is a firm that has been approved by one of the government-approved Part P schemes as sufficiently competent to self-certify that its work complies with the Building Regulations. Schemes authorised by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) are listed on its website.
A registered firm is not required to notify a building control body of its proposals to carry out electrical installation work before it begins, or to have the work inspected on completion. This reduces costs for the customer as the additional charges for calling out a building control body can be avoided.
If a firm wishes to become a Competent Person it must first be vetted to ensure it meets the conditions of registration, including the required levels of competence. The minimum standard of technical competence required is as follows:
* Electrical work in dwellings is designed, installed, inspected and tested to the standard required by BS 7671
* Applicants for a Part P Competent Person Scheme are assessed to be able to work to these standards
A firm registered as a ‘competent person’:
* Can deal with all the new rules for you.
* Is qualified to carry out electrical work to BS 7671, the national safety standard
* Will give you a certificate to confirm their work follows the new rules
Using a ‘competent person’ ensures that:
* You do not have to pay Building Control charges
* You have the option of taking out an insurance-backed guarantee for the work
* You have access to a formal complaints procedure if you are not happy with the work
Part P of the building regulations has been introduced to protect the consumer:
* To reduce the number of deaths, injuries and fires caused by faulty electrical installations and
* To make it harder for ‘cowboys’ to leave electrical installations in an unsafe condition
If you decide against using a registered firm to carry out any work for you, bear in mind the following points:
* There is no guarantee that the electrical installation is safe
* You will have no official record of the work you’ve had carried out
* You may have difficulty selling your home if you do not have the right electrical safety certificates
* Your local authority’s Building Control Department may insist that you put right any faulty work
Failing to comply with the Building Regulations is a criminal offence; however, registration with a Competent Person scheme is not compulsory. If you decide to use a firm that has not registered as a Competent Person, you must ensure that the firm has submitted notification of the work and arranged for it to be inspected and certified by your local authority's Building Control Department on completion.
Part P applies to all electrical installation work carried out in dwellings. However, you do not need to tell your local authority's Building Control department about:
* repairs and maintenance work or
* extra power points or lighting points or other alterations to existing circuits (except in specially defined areas such as a kitchen, bathroom or outdoors)
If you are unsure you should contact your local authority's Building Control department or, if you are already dealing with a Competent Person, they should be able to advise you.
Anyone is entitled to carry out electrical installation work in dwellings. However, when carrying out electrical work, there are two points to consider:
* All work - however minor - must, by law, comply with Part P requirements
* Work of the type listed below must be notified to your local authority's Building Control department
The list below describes the types of electrical installation work and locations that require advance notification to your local authority's Building Control department.
Type Of Work:
* New installation, rewire or partial rewire
* New consumer unit
* One or more new circuits
* Extension to circuit (in kitchen, special location*/installation**)
* Main/supplementary equipotential bonding
* Ring/radial power
* Lighting circuit
* Heating (central heating/room heating/hot water/boiler/controls
* Air conditioning/ventilation system/extractor fan
* Shower (electrically heated or pumped)
* Cooker
* Fire/security/environmental control system
* Vertical lift or stair lift (within dwelling)
* Special installation*
Location:
* Building sharing supply with dwelling
* Building extension or conservatory
* Common area of block of flats
* Flat
* Dwelling house
* Detached shed, garage or greenhouse
* Kitchen
* Garden
* Special location**
* Special installation: electric floor/ceiling heating; garden lighting/power; ELV lighting; generator
** Special location: a room containing bath or shower, swimming pool, sauna
If you are in any doubt about the work you intend to carry out or you have any questions, contact your local authority’s Building Control department for advice.
