Part P (Electrical Safety) is a Building Regulation that came into force on 1st January 2005. This meant that, for the first time, the technical standard of electrical installation work in dwellings (generally houses and flats) were subject to statutory requirements.

With a few exceptions any electrical work undertaken in dwellings, which includes the addition of a new circuit, or involved work in a kitchen, bathroom or garden must be certified and then notified to the local council Building Control. 

The preferred option is where an approved installer, i.e. a member of a competent persons scheme administered by one of the government appointed bodies such as NAPIT (National Association of Professional Inspectors and Testers), self-certifies the electrical work. In which case the body responsible for registering the installer will notify Building Control. This option is the least painful for the customer because the approved installer takes care of all of the paperwork. Also, site visits by Building Control are not necessary.

Alternatively, where an electrician is not registered to self-certify, and intends to carry out the electrical installation a Building Regulation application will need to be submitted, prior to work commencing, together with the appropriate fee. This can be in the region of £100 to £200 per installation. (This fee does not need to be paid if you get a Part P Qualified electrician to carry out the work). Building Control will then arrange to have the electrical installation inspected at first fix stage and tested upon completion. Note: failed installations can incur further inspection charges.

Certificates relating to the work done should be issued regardless of the necessity for notification to the building control - just because work is not notifiable doesn’t necessarily mean that a certificate is not required. Apart from very minor works the electrician responsible should always issue this document. Certification is designed to demonstrate that the work has been carried out and tested to a high standard and the installation electrician is accountable for this. Any electrician that belongs to a part P scheme such as NAPIT will always provide such documentation.

As if the introduction of part P building regulations weren’t enough, on the 1st of July 2008 a whole raft of major changes to the wiring regulations were introduced. This is called the 17th Edition of the IEE Wiring Regulations BS 7671: 2008. The main changes for domestic premises relate to increased protection for the consumer by using RCD (Residual Current Device) trips for almost all circuits in the house, particularly in bathrooms. 

So after the 1st July 2008 every electrical installation will need to be designed, installed, inspected, tested and certified according to these new regulations.  Clearly a thorough understanding of these regulations is necessary to carry out electrical work in the home.

Of course, this will inevitably cost more but it can only be a good thing if electrical installations are made safer.