UK Landlord Forum / Life

I'm in the middle of the conveyancing process for buying a property. This was someone else's refurbishment project. One of the things they did was upgrade the electrics - I believe they stopped short of doing a full rewire, but there are certainly new sockets (as each room has many and most terraces round here are always short on the number of sockets per room until they get a rewire) and there's definitely a new metal-clad Consumer Board (all nicely meeting the latest regulations).

All is good. Except the Vendor says that even though a fully trained, qualified and certified Electrician did the work for him, it was on mate's rates and he has no documents.



I think this means he does not have an installation certificate and - most likely - local authority Building Control was never notified about the installation - as I think they should. I think that oversight potentially (maybe theoretically if the truth be told) carries fines with it.

I am, of course, asking him for documentation of some form, even if it's retrospective, but my understanding is that you (I, I mean, I guess) can't just get another Electrician in to sign off the work performed by someone else (again, retrospectively)... the closest thing I can get is to have an EICR conducted, if - for any reason - he fails to provide something. Or maybe I could just hire an Electrician to remove the existing Consumer Board and put a new £100 in - which, I suppose, would then require a new notification to Building Control. However, I am unaware of what else I may open myself up to in terms of Building Control fines if I just get an EICR (or he does). I didn't do the work. I didn't employ the person who did the work. I'm just buying the property. Do I take on the responsibility?

I've tested all sockets (socket tester) and appliances and lights - it all works fine, but I worry about the lack of documentation (especially with regards Building Control).

Anyone got any deeper understanding of this?

The closest I have come across was that a loft hatch had been fitted to a property I bought.  It was fitted some 30 years before and there was no evidence of planning permission/building regulation compliance. The surveyor did say that there was nothing structurally wrong with the work, however, the dilemma was whether to inform the council about it to see if any such permission had been sought - or let sleeping dogs lie.   In the end the solicitors covered it with an indemnity policy, paid for by the seller of the house.   

My uncle used to be some kind of building inspector/ surveyor as did my Brother in law.
Both said the same thing some local authorities will accept an EICR for non-notified jobs from a registered person and some will not.

Apparently your situation is not uncommon - householder wanting to get “regularised”.  Some LAs Building Control will accept a fee for this to be done.

Other advice is do NOT pay another electrician to sign off another’s work as you might be wasting money if the BC doesn’t accept the paperwork anyway.

I checked this out and indeed Croydon Council charge £216 to “regularise” a consumer unit.
Suggest call your Local Authority Building Control — (anonymously)

Best of luck

I am pushing the Conveyancer to chase them daily on this. I'd like to complete on the 11th. The Vendor has apparently said they'll get it sorted, but I'd like to see that sooner rather than later. I suggested, if all else fails, drop the price by £400 and I'll see to it myself (finger-in-the-air).

Just a thought, Hippo, but might this sort of dilemma be covered by an insurance policy taken out by the vendor through their solicitor?

I have heard of this being done as a means of resolving and expediting the conveyance for issues such as missing FENSA certificates or registered boundaries which don't actually match the property curtilage etc.

Good luck

The Vendor has provided an EICR which states the installation is SATISFACTORY. For me that's probably good enough - I'm mostly concerned that it's safe, my own limited testing told me it was, but this condition report is helpful. The EICR was dated today. I am not aware of whether there's anything to do with Building Control, but I think I will plead ignorance on that front... if the installation has been professionally checked and is said to be SATISFACTORY that is more what I'm concerned about vs. a tick in the box.

Let's hope I'm not making a boo-boo.

I got the EICR. I completed on the house.

Being the suspicious type, and wanting the property to have a little something special, I decided to remove the crappy white, mis-matched, 2-gang sockets throughout and replace them with brushed metal ones... some with USB ports, as I find them very useful. Each socket I took off seemed to provide its own new surprise... from back boxes so deep into the wall that the longest screws I'd ever seen were used, to Earth sleeving which amounted to a piece of yellow-coloured tape, to ones without any Earth connection at all, to one (just one) socket in the entire house that uses red and black wires instead of blue and brown, and - finally - a socket where the Live wires weren't even held in the terminals!

It's been fun and games... and I don't ever want to use the Electrician that signed off this EICR. I cannot help but think it's dodgy. I was asked if I had any comeback to the Vendor. Effectively, I don't know if I do or not, but I know I can't be bothered.