Part P Explained

Building Regulations Part P - Electrical Safety

From 1 January 2005 the design, installation, inspection and testing of electrical
installations will be controlled under the Building Regulations.
The new Part P will apply mainly to dwelling houses and flats including gardens and
outbuildings such as sheds, detached garages and greenhouses.

• Small jobs such as provision of a socket-outlet or a light switch on an existing circuit will not need to be notified to Building Control (although there will be some exceptions for high risk areas such as kitchens and bathrooms).

• All work that involves adding a new circuit to a dwelling, or electrical work in kitchens and bathrooms or in ‘special locations’ (see table) will need to be either notified to Building Control with a building regulation application, or carried out by a competent person who is registered with a Part P Self-Certification Scheme.
There are two routes available to applicants to ensure they comply with Part P:1.
Use an electrician/installer who is registered with a Competent Person’s scheme, in which case a building regulation application will not be required for the electrical work. We would strongly encourage the use of electricians/installers who are part of a Competent Person Scheme.

2.Submit a Building Regulation application to the Local Authority:

A.Where an electrician registered with a recognised trade body such as NICEIC, ECA & NAPIT (who need not be registered under a competent persons scheme) tests the work and issues a design, installation and test certificate under BS7671. Building Control will accept the certificate as evidence that the work complies with Part P. Additional inspections by Building Control may also be carried out in conjunction with the acceptance of a certificate (a list of those electricians competent to inspect and test will be available on the internet at labc-services.co.uk).

B.Where the work is carried out by an unregistered electrician or is a DIY installation, the applicant is required to have the work inspected and tested by a registered electrician as in A. above.
The diagram below shows the various routes to ensure Part P compliance: