In the Regulatory Impact Assessment, the Government estimated that approximately 30% of electrical accidents could be prevented through regulation and that this would justify bringing electrical work in dwellings under Building Regulations control.

Part P of the Building Regulations became a legal requirement in January 2005 and was designed to cover the different aspects of electrical safety for dwellings. (Places of employment fall outside the scope of Part P, but have their own legislation and PAT testing requirements)

Part P states that “Reasonable provision shall be made in the design and installation of electrical installations in order to protect persons operating, maintaining or altering the installations from fire or injury.”

In short, electrical installations must be safe!

More recently, in an attempt to provide greater clarity of the requirement and to make enforcement more proportionate to the risk, a new version of the Part P document has been issued by the Department for Communities and Local Government . This came into effect on 6th April, 2006 and a full version can be obtained from the Department for Communities and Local Government website.

Part P has two requirements to fulfill:

Design, installation, inspection and testing of electrical installations – Reasonable provision shall be made in the design, installation, and inspection and testing of electrical installations in order to protect persons from fire or injury.

Provision of information – Sufficient information shall be provided so that persons wishing to operate, maintain or alter an electrical installation can do so with reasonable safety.

Locations that are covered by the Part P legislation are:

> Dwelling houses and flats

> Common access areas within a block of flats, e.g. stairs or hallways but not lifts

> Shared areas within a block of flats, e.g. laundry room

> Buildings that share a supply with a dwelling, e.g. a shop with a flat above

> Kitchen, garden or special location *

> Building extension or conservatory

> Detached sheds, garages and greenhouses

In or on land associated with the buildings, e.g. outdoor lighting or power

*See out Part P Notification Guide below for details.

From 1st January 2005, anyone (in England and Wales) carrying out fixed electrical installation work in any of the locations shown above must comply with the relevant standards set out in Part P. The UK standard is BS7671: 2008 (The IEE Wiring Regulations 17th Edition). Such work is deemed ‘notifiable’ because the local Building Control body must be informed.

Notifiable work includes new installations, house re-wires and the installation of new circuits. Notifiable work also includes additions to existing circuits in kitchens, bathrooms, outdoors and in other special locations. Please see our Part P Notification Notice below*

Where Notifiable electrical work is undertaken it must be certified by:

> A member of a ‘Competent Person’ self certification scheme.

Or

> The local authority must be informed before any work begins and given access to inspect and test when the work is finished.

However, calling in a building control officer takes time and costs money. Hence, the ‘Competent Person’ self certification scheme was introduced.

Part P applies to all electrical installation work carried out in dwellings. However, you do not need to notify your local 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 kitchens, bathrooms and outdoors)

If you are at all unsure of your obligations you should seek advice from a member of a ‘Competent Person’ scheme or your local Building Control Department. To find your local Building Control department visit the LABC website.

Further information on what work is notifiable can be found in our Part P Notification Guide below.

What is the ‘Competent Person’ self certification scheme?

The ‘Competent Person’ self certification scheme was introduced to allow electrical contractors who register with a scheme to self certify compliance with the Building Regulations whenever they carry out ‘notifiable ‘work. Persons not registered on one of the approved schemes – including DIYers – need to notify or submit plans to the local Building Control office prior to carrying any work out, unless the work is non-notifiable. Refer to our Part P Notification Guide below for guidance.

A ‘Competent Person’ is a firm that has been independently assessed to show that they operate to the highest standards and are deemed to have sufficient capability and proficiency to be included in one of the government approved Part P self certification schemes, operated by any of the following:

> NICEIC Certification Services Limited

> BSI – British Standards Institution

> BRE Certification Limited

> ELECSA Limited

> NAPIT Certification Ltd

The advantages of using M&S Electrical (UK) Limited, as members of NICEIC ‘Competent Person’ self certification scheme include:

> We will deal with all of the new legislation for you

> You can be sure we are qualified to carry out the work

> All work is covered by an insurance backed guarantee

> You will be provided with a NICEIC certificate to confirm that the work carried out has met the new regulations

> You will have access to a formal complaints procedure if you are not happy with the work

> You won’t have to pay the Building Control fees for submitting your plans and the subsequent inspection

> You will not have to arrange a visit from a Building Control inspector

Electrical DIY work is permitted, but any work that is deemed as ‘notifiable’ will require a Building Notice to be submitted to the local Building Control office before work begins and payment of a fee to have Building Control inspect the work on completion.

As explained in our section above ‘Does it apply to me?’, some minor electrical work will not be notifiable. Examples such as adding a lighting or power point to an existing circuit, adding a spur to an existing circuit or replacing a light fitting are non-notifiable.

However, you must be aware that failure to comply with the Building Regulations including Part P itself is an offence and anyone involved in an offending installation can be fined for the contravention and additionally fined for each day that the work is not corrected. Local authorities have the power to order non-compliant work to be altered or even removed.

When it comes to selling your property in the future, this will be more difficult with non-compliant Building regulations work (or missing certificates for work carried out) – more so now than ever with the introduction of the ‘Home Information Pack’.

The location and nature of the work proposed determines whether the work is notifiable or not. Please refer to Approved document P and if in doubt consult the building control body.