Domestic Electrical Appliances and the new Part 'P'

Property managers are required to understand the basic operation of domestic electrical installations in order to specify repairs and improvement works. A law which came into effect in 2005 requires all but minor works to be carried out, by a Government approved 'competent person'  or notified to and inspected by the local authority.

Until 2005,  home-owners could employ any competent electrician to install or alter the electrical system or builder within their house.  From 1 January 2005, however, this changed, and the new law requires that:

all electrical work (with some exceptions for minor works) must be carried out by a government-authorised electrician.

that the work must conform to wiring standards defined by new building regulations

Safety first

In a society increasingly dominated by concerns over consumer safety, the new laws on electrical safety are being introduced by Government so as to make homes safer for householders.  According to Government statistics, on average 10 people die and 750 are seriously injured in accidents involving unsafe electrical installations in the home.  The law on electrical safety aims to bring electrical safety within the scope of the building regulations for the first time.

Competent person

The first requirement under the new law refers to work being carried out by a 'competent person'.  To date, Government has approved four separate organisations whose members will qualify  to carry out domestic electrical installation and repair work under the new regulations:
NICEIC
BRE Certification
British Standards Institution (BSI)
ELECSA

New regulations

The design and installation of electrical circuits and wiring within houses is, and has been, governed by a set of regulations - the IEE Wiring Regulations and British Standard BS7671.  Previously, these regulations, concerned with the safe design, installation and testing of electrical circuits, were simply laid down as guidance and standard industry practice.  From 1st January 2005, a new Part of the Building Regulations, Part P - Electrical Safety - will come into effect. This means that from 1st January, work on fixed electrical installations in dwellings must now follow these standards and will become subject to Building Control and a statutory safety requirement.

Safety requirement

The new Part P of the Building Regulations states that the work itself must comply with the requirement that:
"it shall be suitably designed, installed, inspected and tested so as to provide reasonable protection against there being the source of a fire or cause of injury to persons and where an electrical installation is provided, extended or altered, sufficient information shall be provided so that persons wishing to operate, maintain or alter the installation in the future can do so reasonably safely".   In practice, this means that any installation will need to comply with the requirements of BS 7671.

The safety requirement isapplicable to alterations and additions to existing installations (including rewires) as well as new construction.
Part P applies to all fixed electrical installation work in dwellings and, moreover, the way it applies depends on the sort of electrical work involved and where this work is being undertaken within a dwelling.   Fixed electrical installations include all the fixed electrical cables or fixed electrical equipment (such as a permanently connected electric cooker) located on the consumer's side of the electricity meter.   Fixed electrical installations do not include portable or transportable electrical appliances (such as kettles or fridges).

Electrical contractors will achieve compliance by following the fundamental principles for safety set out in chapter 13 of BS 7671:2001.  Further official guidance on complying with the requirements is given in the new Approved Document P which is available on the Government website (www.odpm.gov.uk).

Notification

All proposed electrical installation work in dwellings will need to be notified to a building control body before work commences, unless:

• the proposed work is to be undertaken by a prescribed competent person (an individual or a firm) authorised to self-certify compliance on completion of the work, or
• the proposed work is minor, and it is not in a kitchen or in an area classified as a special installation or location

Where the notification requirement applies (e.g. where a competent DIYer decides to do the work himself), the work will be checked by local authority building inspectors and a fee will be payable.  At the time of going to press, the cost of such fees is unknown but the fear for many DIYers is that local authority inspection fees will be as expensive, if not more expensive than getting a professional in.

Minor jobs

Minor jobs like replacing sockets and light switches will still need to be carried out to the safety requirements under Part P, but will escape the notification requirement.
The Part P guidance defines work which is non-notifiable as work consisting of:

• replacing accessories such as socket outlets, control switches and ceiling roses
• replacing the cable for a single circuit only, where damaged, for example, by fire, rodent, or impact
• re-fixing or replacing the enclosures of existing installation components
• providing mechanical protection to existing fixed installations

OR work that is not in a kitchen or special location and does not involve a special installation and consists of:

• adding lighting points to an existing circuit
• adding socket-outlets and fused spurs to an existing ring or radial circuit
• installing or upgrading main or supplementary equipotential bonding

Enforcement

The effect of the inclusion of the new Part P into the Building Regulations is that, for the first time, the technical standard of electrical installation work in dwellings (generally houses and flats) will be subject to statutory requirements. These requirements will apply not only to new construction, but also to any alterations or additions to existing installations, including full or partial rewires.
As with other parts of the Building Regulations, Part P will be enforced by local authorities and failure to comply will be a legal offence.
The NICEIC publicity also warns that, when the property owner comes to sell the property, a purchaser's solicitor will ask for evidence that any new electrical installation carried out after 1 January 2005 complies with the Building Regulations.  There will be two ways to prove compliance:
a cetificate showing that the work has been done by an approved or Government-authorised electrical contractor.
a certificate from the local authority saying that the installation has approval under the Building Regulations.

Higher standards

The basic requirements under the new rules appear clear but it remains to be seen how the new system will fare in practice. "Shops are going to continue to sell electrical fittings and the normal householder is undoubtedly going to continue to do things himself" commented one disgruntled landlord "the new rules will only affect those sections of society than can be monitored or licensed i.e. us"
On the positive side, the short-term effect should be to drive up standards amongst builders doing electrical work, and to increase awareness of the Wiring Regulations. Builders wishing to register as an approved contractor will have to undergo an assessment.

For sure, the associations that govern electrical contractors must also be well pleased.  Jointly, they lobbied for these changes and, for them, it is going to mean substantial additional income as all builders undertaking electrical work will each have to pay hundreds of pounds of annual fees to the various government-authorised bodies.  This means that the costs will need to be passed on and prices will undoubtedly increase.  Sadly, it may also mean that some competent landlords may put off important upgrade work which might make a positive contribution to safety.