New electrical installation regulations

[Leecatt]

As has been said over and again on this site. If you are not prepared to pay for your own electrician to check when you buy a house how can you expect the guy selling it to go out and "waste" money on the house he has sold. If he can get one for a bottle of wine... drink & be merry! The house is not his anymore. Transferring attorneys can rectify this but are more interested in chasing the buck. Sad but true.

Good morning Sparks. What you say is true and I would like to add to your comment.
If the purchaser were to obtain and pay for a new COC at every point of purchase, regardless of the time period in between them, then this would negate the corruption.

It would be in his best interest to have it done correctly and the "grudge purchase" would fall away.
He could have it done before the offer, therefore having advanced knowledge of the forthcoming purchase.
He would have first hand contact with the electrician and therefore have the advantage of the guarantees.
He would take possession of the certificate and it wouldn't end up in file-13 in some lawyers office.
He would still be responsible for the electrical installation up until the point he sells it, whereupon the new purchaser begins the process again.

I believe this is how it is done elsewhere in the World.
To me it's a no-brainer

[Dave A]

I gently suggest those who promote the "purchaser must pay" system haven't thought this through all the way.

You correctly point out that the seller isn't really that keen on spending money getting an installation up to code for the purchaser's benefit.

However, I suggest it is presumptious to assume that the purchaser is any more keen than the previous owner to spend his (or her) own money getting the installation up to code either. The previous owner lived with the installation that way. They weren't particularly concerned whether it was up to code or not. After all, "it works, doesn't it?" Why would the purchaser not be happy with the same thing?

Put the responsibility in the purchaser's hands and here's my prediction:
The purchaser will instruct the electrician to examine the installation.
The electrician will come up with as long a list of faults as he/she is able (cheered on by the purchaser, of course).
The purchaser will use the list and quote as a negotiation tool to haggle down the purchase price.
The purchaser will buy the property, and in most cases do nothing more to the electrical installation than adapt it to his/her own needs - if needed.

When the seller is on the hook as is currently the case, ultimately the electrician who issues the COC ends up in the firing line.
The electrician can't afford to mess around because they know there's a purchaser there who is going to be more than happy to hold the electrician accountable for their mistakes.

Yes, I know there's the horror stories. But I strongly suspect there's a far greater prospect of installations ending up to code when the seller is on the hook than when it's the purchaser's responsibility.

(Actually, I can prove it, but it takes looking at a situation in another industry which would muddy the waters some. I'd rather just see if the above argument makes sense to anyone else out there than drag something else into the mix).

[Elmarie Theron]

Hi I registerd for installation rules paper 1 ,and I just want to know where can I get Question papers and memos to work out when I'm studying. I will pay also for the question papaers.