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Part P
What is Part P of the Building
Regulations?
Part P is one of many parts of the
Building Regulations 2000. It was introduced into the Building
Regulations in 2004 and came into
effect on 1st January 2005.
Shortly after the introduction of Part
P, it became clear that it should be amended. The amendment came into
effect on 6th April 2006.
Guidance on how to comply with the
relevant parts of the Building Regulations 2000 are given in Approved
Documents issued by the Government. Approved Document P provides
guidance on how to achieve compliance with Part P of the Building
Regulations 2000. The current Approved Document P was issued in 2006 to
accompany the 2006 amendment.
You can download a PDF copy of
Approved Document P 2006 by clicking
here.
(4675kB)
What does it all mean?
It means that the Government has
authorised and approved several organisations to ensure that domestic
electrical installations are installed in full accordance with the
latest requirements of the Wiring Regulations (BS7671) and the Building
Regulations. The Government has made it clear that all of their
appointed organisations are regulated and monitored to the same
standards. Below is an extract from a Government letter to to local
councils (not Scotland):
Local authority building
contracts
It has been drawn to our intention that some local
authorities in letting contracts for electrical installation work in
dwellings specify that only installers registered with the National
Inspection Council for Electrical Installation Contracting (NICEIC) or
which are members of the Electrical Contractors Association (ECA) should
be acceptable for carrying out the work. Local authorities are reminded
that there are ten authorised competent person schemes for Part P.
Installers registered with any of the full competence schemes have been
assessed as competent to carry out any electrical installation work in
dwellings in
accordance with the requirements of the Building Regulations; those
registered with the defined competence schemes to carry out electrical
installation work as a necessary adjunct to or arising out of their
primary work.
In simple terms, Part P brings
domestic electrical installation work under the building regulations in
much the same way as building work associated with an extension to a
property. As such, domestic electrical installation work must be
approved by the Local Council's building/planning control department. It
means that formal consent from building control is required before
electrical installation work can commence in a domestic property. This
includes private homes and rented accommodation.
Must I obtain planning permission?
There are some electrical works which
are 'exempt' under Part P. In other words, they are 'non-notifiable' to
building control. These are relatively simple works such as changing a
broken socket-outlet, adding a socket to an existing circuit (but not in
a Special Location) or adding a
lighting point to an existing circuit (but not in a Special Location). Some locations are considered to
be 'special locations' - e.g. bathrooms, kitchens and gardens and are
more restrictive on what is and isn't permitted. For a list of special
locations and what is and isn't notifiable, click
here.
Competent Persons Schemes
The Building Regulations 2000 exempts
Assessed Enterprises (companies or individuals) from having to
pre-notify Building Control bodies of electrical installation work in
dwellings if they are registered with an electrical self-certification
scheme. There are two levels of self-certification schemes:
Level A (sometimes referred to
as Full Scope) for the design, installation, inspection and
testing of all electrical work associated with dwellings.
Level B (sometimes referred to
as Defined Scope) is limited to the design, installation and
inspection and testing of defined electrical installation work
undertaken in connection with other non-electrical work e.g. plumbers,
gas fitters, kitchen fitters etc.
After the work is
completed, an Approved Part P electrician notifies building control via
their operating Scheme.
The Government have authorised several
organisations to administer competent persons schemes to fulfil this
requirement. Electricians who have undergone assessment to become a
member of a competent persons scheme are considered to be an
Approved Part P Electrician within the
definition of their scope (Level A, Level B).
An electrician who is not a member of
a competent persons scheme is not exempt from notifying building control
in much the same way as a builder who wishes to build his own house is
not exempt from notifying building control.
Approved Part P Electricians are
required to inspect and test all of their work and issue appropriate
electrical certificates in accordance with the requirements of
BS7671:2008 (IEE Wiring Regulations 17th Edition).
Certificate of Compliance
Shortly after completion of any
notifiable work undertaken by an Approved Part P electrician, the
homeowner, tenant or landlord will receive a certificate of compliance
from the Scheme provider. This certificate is very important and must be
kept in a safe place as it confirms that the related works conform with
the Building Regulations. This could be a very important document during
the
sale of the property, for example.
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