No Paperwork For New Consumer Unit Installation

[andyb]

That's not a very reassuring story RG, There must be a case against the person who carried out the work or failing that the home owner.

Buyer beware,
I returned and most of the house had to be rewired , what surprised me was that this indemnity wasn't worth the paper it was written on ...

Was the case tested by their solicitor? Or did they just accept the sellers solicitors word.

 

[R G]

I was surprised when the customer came back to me and told me the outcome , I would have though this indemnity would have been the answer to the situation . I was expecting that an independent EICR would have to be carried out by someone that wasn't attached to the customer like myself , and the customer agreed that is probably what would happen , but to come back nd say he had tried all avenues along with his solicitor and got nowhere was surprising , as it was it was a nightmare a job and had a basement with tanked walls , I started a thread actually when I did the job asking about what would be recommended about adhesive for the accessories on the tanked walls..

 

[Midwest]

Allow me:

Certification by a building control body

1. 3.8 If an installer is not a registered competent person and has not appointed a registered third-party certifier, then before work begins the installer must notify a building control body.

Yep not disputing that, and you have corrected me there. However, 3.8 is a section from Part P of the Building Regulations 2010.
The actual offence is Failure to comply with the Building Regulations, Section 35 of The Building Act 1984, a criminal offence.

From the Electrical Safety Council;
Who is responsible for making sure that electrical work in your home meets the requirements of Part P?
By law, the homeowner or landlord must be able to prove that all electrical installation work meets Part P, or they will be committing a criminal offence. (no citation)

From the Government Planning Portal;
1) First, if a person carrying out building work contravenes the Building Regulations, the local authority may prosecute them in the Magistrates' Court where an unlimited fine may be imposed (sections 35 and 35A of the Building Act 1984). Prosecution is possible up to two years after the completion of the offending work. This action will usually be taken against the person carrying out the work (builder, installer or main contractor).
2) Your responsibilities;
With all building work, the owner of the property (or land) in question is ultimately responsible for complying with the relevant planning rules and building regulations (regardless of the need to apply for planning permission and/or building regulations approval or not).
Therefore, failure to comply with the relevant rules will result in the owner being liable for any remedial action (which could go as far as demolition and/or restoration). The general advice is to always discuss your proposals with the relevant Local Planning Authority and Building Control Service before starting work.
(Please read replies from my LBC, # 261 & 262)

 

[andyb]

I think we can all agree that under part p of the building regs, the installer should notify when it's required and that the home owner bears ultimate responsibility.

Not heard from the op for a while, I wonder how he's getting on.

 

[Midwest]

Well put.

 

[Trimglafix]

I've had a reply and have copied the answers in along with the questions below......
_______

1Q) You do not appear to be a 'competent person scheme-registered electrician'
1A) It is not a requirement to be on the competent person's scheme register. I am a fully compliant qualified electrician.

2Q) No proof has been provided that the work meets the requirements of Part P of the Building Regulations
2A) The work for the CCU replacement has been fully certified and is logged with the Council.

3Q) Are you notifying this new consumer unit via your scheme or doing it directly with local building control yourself as no paperwork has been received yet?
3A) Please refer to 2). We have provided paperwork for our certification via email as well as an invoice. As requested by Mrs ---, a hard copy of the certification was also sent out.

4Q) No written quote was provided
4A) A written quote was not requested. This was verbally agreed with XXXXX who were happy with this and to go ahead with the replacement CCU.
_______

Comments gratefully received as always.....

 

[Richard Burns]

Number one has been covered.
So long as the installer is competent to do the work carried out and the building and wiring regulations are complied with there is no requirement to be part of a self certifications scheme.

Number four is covered, whilst there are certain things that should be provided in writing to someone entering such a contract I believe it has been established that this no longer applies after the completion of the work.

Numbers two and three are less clear cut.
The statement "fully certified" could mean two things: it has a full electrical installation certificate, or, it has a full electrical installation certificate and a building regulations compliance / completion certificate.
"is logged with the council" is also not clear cut however it does appear to mean that the council is aware of the work in writing. If this is the case then the council would normally issue a building regulations completion certificate, but this has not been forthcoming (but see below).

In Number three he is not answering the question as your question was about Part P compliance not wiring regulations compliance. He seems to be only referring to electrical installation certificates not building regulations certificates, since you have said he has supplied the electrical installation certificate only (which is all I would expect him personally to supply, the building regulations certificates come from a scheme or building control).

There is a section in the building act that allows local authorities to dispense with the requirements of the building regulations, which they may do for an electrician who has demonstrated to them that they are competent. However if they do this I am not sure whether any certificate would need to be issued as this would then fall outside of the building regulations remit and so out of my scope of reference.
Perhaps you could call the local authority building control and ask if your work has been registered with them, though it may be a futile exercise in dealing with a council.?

 

[Octopus]

I've had a reply and have copied the answers in along with the questions below......
_______

1Q) You do not appear to be a 'competent person scheme-registered electrician'
1A) It is not a requirement to be on the competent person's scheme register. I am a fully compliant qualified electrician.

2Q) No proof has been provided that the work meets the requirements of Part P of the Building Regulations
2A) The work for the CCU replacement has been fully certified and is logged with the Council.

3Q) Are you notifying this new consumer unit via your scheme or doing it directly with local building control yourself as no paperwork has been received yet?
3A) Please refer to 2). We have provided paperwork for our certification via email as well as an invoice. As requested by Mrs ---, a hard copy of the certification was also sent out.

4Q) No written quote was provided
4A) A written quote was not requested. This was verbally agreed with XXXXX who were happy with this and to go ahead with the replacement CCU.
_______

Comments gratefully received as always.....

Hum... is that the one posted on here with loads of errors on it?

I'm a scheme member so don't know how to check if LABC notification has actually been done - could you make a call to the local building control?

 

[Midwest]

I'm in a scheme, so don't know the other procedures. However, I replaced my windows in my house. I informed the LBC before starting work (Building Regs application), and paid a fee. On completion, the building inspector came and had a look. They then sent me a completion certificate.

I seem to remember earlier on in this thread, that some BC's have local agreements with electricians (they have confirmed their competence), and once the electrician has informed the BC, the BC will issue completion certificate. Sort of neither scheme registered nor third party certificate.

I suppose your dilemma OP, is if you contact your BC to see if your work has been notified and its not, the BC may go require you to apply for a regularisation certificate.

 

[Octopus]

I'm in a scheme, so don't know the other procedures. However, I replaced my windows in my house. I informed the LBC before starting work (Building Regs application), and paid a fee. On completion, the building inspector came and had a look. They then sent me a completion certificate.

I seem to remember earlier on in this thread, that some BC's have local agreements with electricians (they have confirmed their competence), and once the electrician has informed the BC, the BC will issue completion certificate. Sort of neither scheme registered nor third party certificate.

I suppose your dilemma OP, is if you contact your BC to see if your work has been notified and its not, the BC may go require you to apply for a regularisation certificate.

Well... the "spark" claims this has been done so if it hasn't, he will have to do it!

 

[Midwest]

Well... the "spark" claims this has been done so if it hasn't, he will have to do it!

Referring back to #273;
I think we've done that one to death. OP just needs to decide on where to go from here. Perhaps he could wait a while and see if the LBC send out a completion certificate..............................................

 

[Dan]

Just bumping some threads in the Electrical Wiring Theories and Regulations forum category here on our Electricians Forums. If this specific topic isn't current, just ignore it, it'll drop off the list in no time. However, if it's something you'd like to contribute to, feel free to reply and bring it back into current discussion.