What is Part P?
Part P of the Building Regulations was introduced by government in 2005 and affects all electrical work carried out in dwellings.
People carrying out electrical work in homes and gardens in England and Wales should follow the requirements set out in Part P of the Building Regulations to ensure that they are complying with the law. These rules are designed to ensure that electrical work is safe.
Part P has been introduced in order to reduce the number of deaths injuries and fires caused by faulty electrical installations.
A Competent Person is a firm that has been approved by one of the government-approved Part P schemes as sufficiently competent to self-certify that its work complies with the Building Regulations.
A registered firm is not required to notify a building control body of its proposals to carry out electrical installation work before it begins or to have the work inspected on completion. This reduces costs for the customer as the additional charges for calling out a building control body can be avoided.
If a firm wishes to become a Competent Person it must first be assessed to ensure it meets the conditions of registration including the required levels of competence. The minimum standard of technical competence required is as follows:
* Electrical work in dwellings is designed installed inspected and tested to the standard required by BS 7671
* Applicants for a Part P Competent Person Scheme are assessed to be able to work to these standards
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 kitchen, bathroom or outdoors)
If you are unsure you should contact your local authority's Building Control department or, if you are already dealing with a Competent Person, they should be able to advise you.
People carrying out electrical work in homes and gardens in England and Wales should follow the requirements set out in Part P of the Building Regulations to ensure that they are complying with the law. These rules are designed to ensure that electrical work is safe.
Part P has been introduced in order to reduce the number of deaths injuries and fires caused by faulty electrical installations.
A Competent Person is a firm that has been approved by one of the government-approved Part P schemes as sufficiently competent to self-certify that its work complies with the Building Regulations.
A registered firm is not required to notify a building control body of its proposals to carry out electrical installation work before it begins or to have the work inspected on completion. This reduces costs for the customer as the additional charges for calling out a building control body can be avoided.
If a firm wishes to become a Competent Person it must first be assessed to ensure it meets the conditions of registration including the required levels of competence. The minimum standard of technical competence required is as follows:
* Electrical work in dwellings is designed installed inspected and tested to the standard required by BS 7671
* Applicants for a Part P Competent Person Scheme are assessed to be able to work to these standards
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 kitchen, bathroom or outdoors)
If you are unsure you should contact your local authority's Building Control department or, if you are already dealing with a Competent Person, they should be able to advise you.