Part P - is it on the way out?

serverdog

We are currently looking at getting some electrical work done on our house, and have had a few electricians around to quote. One of them last week told us that he was not Part P registered (lapsed membership) so he could not give us that cert at the end of the work, however he could give us a Testers cert. His reasoning was that Part P was due to be abolished later this year following the closure of the HIPS scheme. Is this correct?

Based on the fact that his quote has come in significantly cheaper than the other quotes (who are Part P compliant) what should we do? He suggested that he could do the work, and certify it after the Part P is no longer required later this year.

Any advice would be welcome. Thanks in advance.

McKneff

Just a thought, but why dont you ask one of the ones who are part P registered if this is the case. He might just be pulling a fast one to get the work.
And what would happen if anything went wrong in between now and the part P being abolished I ask myself.

rpc

Part P has nothing to do with HIPs.

I suspect he's spinning you a tale to get the work. He's probably cheaper because he doesn't have to pay the registration fees, etc but if he isn't able to test it to the extent legally required, how do you know it will be safe?

Assuming he is wrong, you could get him to do the work and someone else to inspect it but that's probably more hassle and more cost.

Building control at the council can probably tell you for sure that Part P is not on it's way out. If the work falls under Part P, it's notifiable to them anyway. If you do not use a Part P registered sparky, they will require an inspection and charge accordingly. Hiding notifiable works from the council is not recommended...

rpc.

andrew-b

I think his taking the pee...the part pee....though the title of the thread caught my hopeful eye!

Expect this will begin another part p debate, but part P is just a stupid idea dreamt up by some pen-pusher and doesn't make electrics any safer IMHO. An electrical install that follows the IEEE electrical regs to the letter but hasn't been self-certified by a spark through Part P isn't any more dangerous. The axeing of HIPS does mean more of the onus falls on the buyer (or his solicitor) during a house purchase to check the relevant part p documentation exists - but then with HIPS a vendor could easily just conveniently forget to include something anyway! But whose going to back out of a house purchase because one piece of bureaucratic paper is missing?

Even if work that was carried out had relevant part p documentation with it what's to say someone hasn't altered the install since? Even swapping a socket could make the install unsafe and that doesn't come under the realms of part p.

A better system IMO would be to make it compulsory to have an electrical test upon purchase of a house and then at regular intervals (say 3-5 years) before you can take out insurance on a house...in a similar way that you need an MOT certificate to get car insurance. Would keep everyone happy as competent DIYers can still do their own electrics and have a bigger incentive to ensure they do the job properly whilst electricians pick up a constant workload of testing and work associated with fixing bad installs! Simples!

Kiran

Couldn't agree more!

1984ReturnsForReal_2

Oooooooooo

You will be reporting him to the authorities then for endangering lives / illegal works...

Ionkontrol

The thing is, if I was buying another property, I would get my own spark to look over the place and not put my trust in a bit of meaningless paper.

dander

What amount of work is it? If it's something quite major like a rewire or a new circuit going in or something, then I think it would be a false economy to go for the non part p option and then have to get it certified.
But if it's something small then if you are happy to take the chance for the lower price, then I'm sure it could be conveniently forgotten about if anyone asked.

serverdog

dander wrote: »

What amount of work is it?

Thanks for all your responses. I suspected it may be a ploy for the job.

The job is a complete rewire, so I am trying to make sure that we have all our bases covered. After throwing that amount of money at our house, I don't want to be lumbered with issues down the line, so I would rather pay more now than have to pay again later.

Londonelectrician

Part P is NOT on the way out, its very much 'IN' as shorty it has been rumored, you will need an electrical certificate to sell yoyur house, just like u do for gas etc.
Most buyers ask for this certificate even now, to try knock a few k off the price if you cant produce one!