I'm in the process of selling my house. A couple of years ago I had an electrician (properly registered) come to change the kitchen ceiling light (from fluoresent tubes to recessed) and he also replaced the outdoor cable supplying the garden shed as the original one wasn't suitable for outdoor use. He never said anything about me needing a build regs certificate to make these changes.
However, my buyer's solicitors are now insisting that I have to show them some sort of building regulations certificate for the work he did.
So far so good. I called my electrician again who said that when he was at the house he noticed that the main cut off was iron and that these are now in the process of being replaced nationally, and therefore he couldn't issue me with any certificate for the work in the kitchen and shed until it had been replaced.
I called the power distributor who said, I can't sell my house unless I have the iron cut out replaced, and I will need to book them in some time over the next few weeks to get it replaced. I might also need a new earth apparently.
That's not much good for me as I was hoping to exchange contracts and complete the sale within the next few days! So let's just take this in turn:
(i) for changing a ceiling light and replacing the cable on one circuit should my electrician have informed the council and got me a certificate? According to the IET website minor electrical works don't require a certificate, so would the original work be sufficiently minor not to need certifying?
(ii) is the DNO correct to say that I can't sell my house unless the cast iron cut out has been replaced? It seems unlikely given that I have just bought another house with a cast iron cut out and noone mentioned anything! But it will delay the sale if I have to wait for the DNO to do whatever they have to do before I can sell.
However, my buyer's solicitors are now insisting that I have to show them some sort of building regulations certificate for the work he did.
So far so good. I called my electrician again who said that when he was at the house he noticed that the main cut off was iron and that these are now in the process of being replaced nationally, and therefore he couldn't issue me with any certificate for the work in the kitchen and shed until it had been replaced.
I called the power distributor who said, I can't sell my house unless I have the iron cut out replaced, and I will need to book them in some time over the next few weeks to get it replaced. I might also need a new earth apparently.
That's not much good for me as I was hoping to exchange contracts and complete the sale within the next few days! So let's just take this in turn:
(i) for changing a ceiling light and replacing the cable on one circuit should my electrician have informed the council and got me a certificate? According to the IET website minor electrical works don't require a certificate, so would the original work be sufficiently minor not to need certifying?
(ii) is the DNO correct to say that I can't sell my house unless the cast iron cut out has been replaced? It seems unlikely given that I have just bought another house with a cast iron cut out and noone mentioned anything! But it will delay the sale if I have to wait for the DNO to do whatever they have to do before I can sell.