What is Part P of the building regulations? Since 2005, if you’re doing work to your home that involves electricity, it needs to be covered by ‘Part P’ of the Building Regulations.

That’s the law. It means whoever is carrying out the work needs to follow rules that make sure the work protects you and your family from fire or electric shock.

It’s designed to keep you and your family as safe as possible. This applies if you’re putting electricity into a new house or extension, or if you’re having an existing system adapted or rewired.

You can find full details on Part P on the Communities and Local Government website, www.communities.gov.uk.

What electrical work does this law cover? Apart from some types of minor work, all electrical work in the home, garden, conservatory or outbuilding must meet Part P of the building reguations.

It must either be reported to the local authority building control, or be carried out by an electrician registered with a government-approved scheme.

Who is responsible for making sure any work complies with Part P? You are. By law, all homeowners and landlords must be able to prove that all electrical wiring meets Part P, or they will be committing a criminal offence.

Local authorities can make homeowners or landlords remove or alter any work that doesn’t meet these Building Regulations.

What do you need to do before any electrical installation work can be carried out?

You must either

• Tell your local authority building control about the installation work before it starts.
• Employ an electrician registered with one of the government-approved schemes.

We recommend that you use a registered electrician to do any electrical work. The advantages of this are:

• You will not have to pay any building control charges;
• The electrician can deal with everything for you;
• The electrician will arrange for you to receive a certificate confirming the work meets the Building Regulations;
• You have access to a formal complaints procedure if the work doesn’t meet the Building Regulations;
• You can choose to take out an insurance-backed guarantee when you have the work done, and you can make a claim if the work is later found not to meet the Building Regulations.

What does Part P of the Building Regulations mean for you?

If you use a registered electrician, you can expect to have safe electrical work done, as the work will meet the UK national standard, BS 7671 (Requirements for Electrical Installations). When the work is finished you will receive:

• An Electrical Installation Certificate or Minor Works Certificate that confirms that the work meets BS 7671;
• A Building Regulations Compliance Certificate that confirms that the work meets the Building Regulations.

Is it important who carries out the electrical work on your home? Yes. Electrical work must only be carried out by people who have the knowledge, skill and experience needed to avoid danger to themselves and others.

It’s easy to make an electrical circuit work – it’s far harder to make the circuit work safely.

We strongly recommend that you use a registered electrician to do any electrical work you need. They work to the UK national safety standard and will give you a safety certificate to confirm that their work has been designed, inspected and tested in line with that standard.