On the 1st Jan this year new UK building regulations were introduced regarding electrical work carried out in the home. The aim of these rules is to protect people from cowboy builders and bad electrical workmanship – also to limit electrical DIY work done by amateurs. Those who don’t comply with the new regulation could be prosecuted and fined up to £5000. There are also implications as to insurance should anything happen to you or your home..
These new rules have serious effects on DIYers. All domestic electrical installations are classified either as “notifiable” or “non-notifiable“. DIYers can only do non-notifiable work – minor jobs such as replacing socket outlets, switches, ceiling roses. But we’re not allowed to do even these simple tasks in high risk areas which are exposed to water (kitchen, bathroom, garden). Other electrical work has to be done, or certified, by a competent person, who is registered with one of the regulating bodies approved by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
The new rules will certainly help to regulate those electricians whose workmanship is questionable. Also it will protect against the incompetent DIYer. But what about the experienced DIYer, or those builders who might not have an electrician’s certificate but have many years of experience? Apparently, in the UK, 1million domestic electrical jobs are carried out every year – about 10 people die and 750 people get injured as a result of faulty electrical installations in the home. During the same period in London alone about the same number of teenagers die or get injured in road accidents. Why does’t the government ban driving or crossing the road ourselves?
It’s yet another manifestation of the nanny-state. Instead of educating people to be careful and responsible for their actions, they use a dictatorial & patronising style to tell us all what to do and what not do. Yes, the public needs to be protected from cowboy builders. But not just from cowboy electricians – from all type of tradesmen. So why don’t they regulate the building industry properly? More importantly, why don’t they train more tradesmen? The basic reason most people do their own electrical work is economic – electricians charge a fortune and many of them don’t do the work properly. Introducing rules to stop us doing electrical work in our own homes under these circumstances, when there aren’t enough competent tradesmen around, will just push their charges even higher. Also, a competent person shouldn’t just mean that they have a piece of paper saying that they are qualified – they should be conscientious and thorough – the quality of their workmanship should be monitored and publicly published!
Anyway, there is way around the problem. If you’re not good at DIY, then get an electrician to do the job. This should have been the case even before the new rules. If, on the other hand you’ve been doing electrical work for years and you know what you’re doing – just carry on doing things. Then ask a registered electrician or your local authority to accredit your work. This would still cost you £100 or so, but could be a cheaper (and better) solution than getting an electrician, particularly if you need a lot of work to be done.
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