Domestic electrical work

The Building Regulations set out overall criteria and requirements to ensure electrical safety in and around dwellings. Approved Document P provides further practical guidance for undertaking this type of work.

Notifiable electrical work

You should bear in mind that any electrical work you carry out within a home, garden, garage, shed and other storage buildings may need to comply with the requirements of Part P of the Building Regulations and therefore need to be notified to us in Building Control. These works are called ‘notifiable work’.

Common examples of ‘notifiable work’ are:

• Rewiring a property
• Providing electricity to a garage or outhouse
• The replacement of the main fuse box in a house
• Electrical work in a kitchen, shower room or bathroom.

Find an electrician registered under a Competent Person Scheme
We would always recommend you find an electrician registered under an Electrical Competent Person Scheme who can carry out the work and self-certify it, therefore avoiding the need to notify us separately in Building Control.

• Once the work is complete the Part P electrician will arrange for you to receive a Building Regulations compliance certificate within 30 days
• The Building Control Partnership will also be notified electronically about the work which will be added to your property history information
• The electrician will also provide you with a completed Electrical Installation Certificate which shows that the work was tested for safety
• We would advise you to ask the electrician to provide information about which scheme they belong to and their membership number. You will then be able check with the organisation to make sure they are registered.  A list of the current schemes can be found here.

General guidance
If you are unsure about whether the electrical work you intend to carry out needs to comply please contact us and we will be happy to discuss this with you.

• All electrical work should follow the safety standards in BS 7671 (the ‘wiring regulations’) – rules which have been introduced to help reduce the number of deaths, injuries and fires caused by faulty installations
• The Building Regulations only set standards for electrical installation work in relation to dwellings (houses, flats etc). If the work is carried out in industrial or commercial buildings it is covered by the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is responsible for making sure that electrical installation work in these kinds of buildings is safe and if you have any queries you should contact them
• The Building Regulations do not set standards for the safety of electrical appliances such as fridges and washing machines but they do require that fixed connections of appliances are safe
• For general advice, guidance and information in easy to understand formats visit the Electrical Safety First website.

Using The Building Control Partnership to check ‘notifiable’ electrical work
If you carry out ‘notifiable’ work yourself, or use an electrician who is not registered under a Competent Person Scheme you will need to make a Building Notice application to us before you start the work.  Please contact us before you start and we can advise you of the procedures to follow and the areas we will need to inspect and the requirements for testing. Our charges are individually determined and we will advise you of the fee and how you can make payment at the same time.

How to make an application
The quickest and easiest way to make an application is to complete the online Building Notice form. Please give details of the electrical work you wish to undertake and make payment of the Building Regulations charge.