Electrical installations
Certain aspects of electrical work such as adding a new
circuit to a home or replacing a socket-outlet or a light switch on
an existing circuit in a high risk area such as a kitchen or
bathroom, or electrical installations to pond pumps, sheds,
garages, conservatories, greenhouses and other detached buildings,
will be controlled by the requirements of the building regulations.
These require an application with the relevant fee to building
control and arrangement for inspections and testing of the work.
Only electricians registered under the Government's
self-certification scheme will be qualified to undertake new
electrical installations and certain aspects of maintenance in
domestic dwellings without making an application to the Council's
building control section.
Competent Person Scheme
It is in your best interests to use an electrician registered
within the 'Competent Person Scheme', which allows registered
electricians to design, install and certify that their work is in
compliance with the new regulations and issue a `Domestic
Inspection Certificate' to the local authority stating compliance
has been met. The 'competent' electrician will have to be
registered to a Government approved scheme. Building
control recommends this scheme as your preferred choice.
Competent electrician
Alternatively, if you do not use an electrician registered under
the 'Competent Person Scheme', new electrical works should still be
installed, inspected and tested by a 'competent electrician'. A
'competent electrician' is one who holds a City and Guilds 2382
(17th Edition) certificate and a City and Guilds 2391 (Inspection,
Testing and Certification) certificate and has experience of
electrical installation work. The electrician may or may not be
registered with a recognised trade body such as NICEIC, ECA or
NAPIT, or registered under the 'Competent Person Scheme'. A
building control application and relevant fee will be required and
copies of the appropriate BS7671 electrical installation and test
certificates must be provided to building control by the competent
electrician before a completion certificate can be issued.
Homeowners should be aware that if approval certificates
are not obtained, the future sale of their property will be
affected. In certain instances legal action could be taken and
additional expense incurred by the householder in having a
retrospective 'Property Inspection Report' carried out.