Building Regs question.....help needed

MissMotivation

Not often I ask for advice here but I'm getting nowhere with the Solicitors involved in the sale.

I know there are a couple of Solicitors on this board.....Richard Webster if you are here then I would appreciate your advice.

The Vendors of a property I'm selling had a re-fitted kitchen about 2 years ago, at the time they did the kitchen they also had spot-lights inserted into the ceiling.

They have agreed a sale and the Purchasers Solicitors raised an enquiry asking if there was Building Regs consent on the spot-lights?

The Vendors Solicitor states that as long as they have a Certificate from a qualified electrician then this is all that is needed......the Purchasers Solicitor is adamant that Building Regs are needed.....the Vendor does not want to pay for this (£175).

I can't get a definitive answer from anyone.....I'm stumped.

Help please

dander

Buildings regs sounds a tad excessive just for some lights, but I would just give the building control department at the local council for the house a quick call and ask them.

When I had my extension built the building regs requirement for the electrics was that they were certified by a qualified electrician - so I can't really see that you'd need a further certificate on top of that.

MissMotivation

......still waiting for a call back from Planning Dept :mad:

I agree, it sounds excessive for some spot-lights and both Solicitors can't agree on what is required either!

Homersimpson

Is it a new house (within last 5 years)? If so then they may fall under part of the building regs with regard to the allowances for low energy lighting in the house. From memory I think its generally 1 out of every 4 lights in the house must be low energy, therefore if you have 12 lights then 3 must be low energy.

TBH we spec houses with low energy lights and the purchasers then go and change them after completion anyway. I don't think building control would be bothered even if it was originally installed to part L.

A certificate from any Part P registered electrician will be fine.

G_M

Local planners will answer this. Call them or go round. Or suggest the buyers go round as it will speed up their purchase.

ab7167

The Part P certificate is effectively the building regulations certificiate, if I recall correctly. Part P of the Building Regs states(among other things) that electrical installations in kitchens and bathrooms may only be carried out by qualified electricians. Most councils run a scheme where they certify the electrician as competenet, and then the electrician can issue a Part P certificate confirming that the installtion was done to the Building Regs standard. Incidently, the certificate should also cover the installation of the electrical hob/oven (if one is installed). If it is gas, there should be a CORGI or GasSafe certificate for that installation (depending on installation date, GasSafe took over from CORGI in April 2009)

So what you need, as stated by homersimpson, is the Part P certificate completed by the original installer. Then you need to check with the Building Regs department that this installer is on their list of approved installers. Don't bother the Planning department, they are totally separate to the Building Regs lot and don't deal with this kind of query.

Part P applies to any electrical work carried out after January 2005.

I think, but am not sure, that the Part P certificate issued by the installer should have then been registered with the Council, so they may have information - but don't quote me on this one! My area of expertise is with Part A (structure) of the BRegs, not electrics.

The BRegs department of the council will be able to advise further.

bubblybee

It's not the planners that will answer this its building regs department. You don't need planning permission for internal lights (unless its a listed building - then there might be some controls)

MissMotivation

Sorry.....I meant that I had left a message for Building control dept to call me back.

So....if I've understood this correctly, as long as the electrician who carried out the electrical inspection was certified by the council and has issued a Part P then the Vendors don't have to worry about getting anything else from the council?

I'm just waiting for a scanned copy of the electrical 'certificate' that the Vendors have and then I can see what they've had done.

ab7167

MissMotivator, yes that is my understanding of the current regulations. I would however get the vendors to produce the original certificate and check with the council that the electrician in question was certified by them at the time the certificate was issued. I remember having to pay a small amount (£18.50 ish) for an original copy from the council of a completion certificate for our extension when we last sold a house, as we only had a photocopy from the previous vendors and our buyers wanted an original copy.

BRegs department will be able to clarify this further for you if you want, but it sounds like your solicitor and the vendors solicitor are talking about the same thing without realising that they are :-)

If the certificate is NOT a part P one, or the installer was not registered with the council, then the vendor will need to get the installation checked and a Part P certificate issued, which I guess is the £175 you have been quoted. That is, if you/your solicitor is adamant that this must be done. I would be reluctant not to do it, to be honest, or you will run into exactly the same issue when you try to sell! May be worth offering to go halves, if you REALLY want this house?

slummymummyof3

It doesn't need building regs just a Part P cert from a qualified electrician - what an anal solicitor!

ab7167

Part P IS the Building Regulations....

Building Regulations 2000 : Approved Document P - Electrical safety - dwellings (2006 edition) to give it its full title...

The Part P certificate is the document confirming that the installation has been carried out in accordance with the above document.

Buyer and sellers solicitors are talking about the same thing, I think...