- From 1 January 2005 all electrical work
in dwellings is required to comply with Part P requirements and be
carried out by persons who are competent to do the work.
- All work that involves adding a new
circuit or work within a special location will need to be either
notified to building control, which will then inspect the work, or
carried out, by a competent person who is registered with the Part
P Self-Certification Scheme.
- 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 but there will be
some exceptions for high risk areas such as kitchens, bathrooms,
gardens and special locations.
- Persons registered with Part P
Self-Certification Schemes will be qualified contractors with the
ability to thoroughly check a circuit for safety. They are
required to issue an Electrical Installation certificate that
complies with Building Regulation requirements.
Who requires Part P?
Part P is aimed at personnel/businesses that regularly carry out electrical work in support of their main trade. This mainly consists of kitchen fitters, plumbers, carpenters & builders, but also extends to anyone carrying out electrical work in the home.
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 bathroom, kitchen or outdoors.
What if I don’t have Part P ?
If you are not registered as a Part P approved person then all work needs to be notified to the local building control officer, who will inspect your work, or appoint a qualified agent to carry out the inspection. In practice this option is going to be both time consuming and costly as the average costs vary from £100 - £200 per inspection.
Clive Carlton writes for
HandyExperts.
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Copyright Clive Carlton