Part P Implications for Smart Home Installations: What Counts as Notifiable Electrical Work and Competent Persons Schemes

Quick Answer: Part P of the Building Regulations applies to all fixed electrical installations in dwellings. Smart home work is "notifiable" — i.e. requires Building Control notification — when it adds new circuits, replaces a consumer unit, or carries out work in a special location (bathroom, kitchen with cooker circuit, garden lighting). Notifiable work must be either carried out by a Competent Person Scheme registered electrician (NICEIC, NAPIT, ELECSA, STROMA, NICEIC Approved Contractor) or notified to and inspected by Local Authority Building Control. Smart switches replacing existing switches on existing circuits are usually NOT notifiable; new dedicated circuits for AV racks, lighting control hubs or EV chargers ARE.

Summary

Smart home installers regularly straddle a regulatory boundary. Some of their work — replacing switches, fitting smart plugs, installing low-voltage doorbell systems — is non-notifiable and can be done without electrical certification. Other work — running new circuits to a network rack, fitting new lighting circuits for a control system, modifying the consumer unit to add an EV charger — is fully notifiable under Part P and must be done by a Part P registered electrician or notified to Building Control.

Confusion in this area causes two distinct problems: smart-home installers carrying out notifiable work without registration (illegal and uninsurable), and smart-home installers refusing to do non-notifiable work that they could lawfully do, leading to the homeowner needing two trades for one job.

This article sets out exactly what is and isn't notifiable under Part P, the routes for compliance, and how a smart-home company without an in-house electrician should structure its commercial relationships with electrical contractors. Get this wrong and your professional indemnity will not respond when something goes wrong; get it right and the project flows smoothly with documented compliance.

Key Facts

• Building Regulations Part P — covers electrical safety in dwellings; current Approved Document P applies
• BS 7671:2018+A2:2022 — the IET Wiring Regulations; the technical standard underlying Part P
• Competent Persons Scheme (CPS) — government-recognised industry schemes that allow members to self-certify
• CPS providers — NICEIC, NAPIT, ELECSA, STROMA, BSI Kitemark, Certsure
• Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) — issued for new circuit work; signed off and dated
• Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate (MEIWC) — for additions and alterations not requiring full EIC
• Notifiable work — new circuit, consumer unit replacement, work in a special location (bathroom, kitchen sink area, garden)
• Special locations — defined in BS 7671 Section 700 series; bathrooms (Sect 701), saunas, swimming pools, gardens (>0.5m from house)
• Non-notifiable work — replacement like-for-like (e.g. swap switch, swap socket on existing circuit) outside special locations
• EICR (Electrical Installation Condition Report) — periodic inspection report; not the same as installation certification
• PIR (Periodic Inspection Report) — old name for EICR
• Consumer unit — the fuse box / breaker board; replacement always notifiable
• EV charger — almost always requires new dedicated 32A or 40A circuit; notifiable
• Smart lighting on existing circuit — replacing switches with smart switches usually non-notifiable
• New AV rack circuit — dedicated 16A or 20A circuit for equipment rack; notifiable
• Voltage classification — Extra-low voltage (ELV ≤50V AC) and Separated ELV (SELV) outside Part P scope but within BS 7671
• Low voltage (LV) — 50V to 1000V AC; the domain of Part P
• Penalty for non-compliance — homeowner liability under Building Act 1984; up to £5,000 fine and an enforcement order to remediate
• Insurance implications — work done without CPS notification or LABC inspection often invalidates household insurance for fire claims

Quick Reference Table

Detailed Guidance

What is "notifiable" work?

Approved Document P defines notifiable electrical work in dwellings as:

1. Installation of a new circuit — any addition that creates a new circuit at the consumer unit
2. Replacement of a consumer unit — full or partial
3. Any addition or alteration to existing circuits in a special location — bathroom (Section 701), kitchen with cooker circuit zones, swimming pool / sauna, garden (>0.5m from house)

Everything else is non-notifiable, although it must still comply with BS 7671. Non-notifiable does NOT mean "doesn't need to be safe" — it means the work can be done without Building Control involvement, but must still be designed, installed and tested to BS 7671 standards.

Smart switches and sockets — what's allowed

Replacing an existing light switch with a smart switch on the same circuit, in a non-special location, is non-notifiable. The work must still:

• Be carried out by a competent person (technically capable of safe LV work)
• Comply with BS 7671 — terminations, polarity, earthing, switching all conductors as appropriate
• Not increase the load beyond circuit capacity
• Maintain or improve safety (e.g. retain neutral connection where required)

Many smart switches require a permanent neutral at the switch — a feature most UK lighting circuits lack (typically only switched live and switch return). Wiring a smart switch without a neutral on a circuit not designed for it is BS 7671 non-compliant and creates risk of failure, flickering or device damage.

When new circuits are needed and notifiability kicks in

Smart home projects that often require new dedicated circuits:

• Network/AV equipment rack — sustained load 6-15A; recommended dedicated 16A or 20A circuit on its own RCD
• Home cinema — projector, AVR, source equipment, motorised screens; dedicated circuit reduces noise
• Lighting control panel — KNX, Lutron, Rako; usually requires dedicated supply for actuators
• EV charger — minimum 32A dedicated circuit, often requires DNO (Distribution Network Operator) approval under G98/G99
• PV / battery storage — new circuits to inverter, battery
• Server / NAS rack — sustained load may exceed shared sockets

All of these are notifiable under Part P. The smart-home installer must either be a CPS-registered electrician (with the right scope for the work) or contract this part of the work to a registered electrician.

Routes to Part P compliance

Three routes exist:

1. CPS-registered electrician self-certifies

The electrician is a member of a Competent Persons Scheme (NICEIC, NAPIT, ELECSA, STROMA, etc.). After completing the work they:

• Issue an Electrical Installation Certificate (EIC) to the homeowner
• Upload the certificate to the scheme's portal
• The scheme issues a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate to the homeowner
• Building Control receives the notification automatically

This is the fastest and cheapest route. Most smart-home projects that include any notifiable electrical work go via this route.

2. Local Authority Building Control (LABC) notification

Used when the electrician is not CPS-registered, or for major works. Process:

• Submit a Building Notice or Full Plans application to LABC before starting work
• Pay the LABC fee (typically £200-£500 for electrical work)
• LABC inspects the installation in progress
• LABC issues the Compliance Certificate at completion

Slower and more expensive than CPS, used as a fallback.

3. Third-party certification

For work already completed by a non-CPS electrician (or the homeowner DIY), a registered third-party can inspect and certify. This is more expensive and the work often needs partial undoing for inspection.

Special locations — bathroom and beyond

BS 7671 Section 701 covers bathrooms (and rooms containing baths/showers). Zones are defined by proximity to the bath/shower:

• Zone 0 — inside the bath/shower itself; only SELV ≤12V AC permitted
• Zone 1 — directly above bath/shower up to 2.25m; restricted equipment (IPX4 minimum, RCD-protected)
• Zone 2 — 0.6m horizontally from Zone 1, or 2.4m above Zone 0; less restricted, IPX4 minimum
• Outside zones — standard rules with RCD protection

Smart bathroom devices (extract fans, demister mirrors, smart shower controls) in zones must be IP-rated for the zone, RCD-protected, and the work is notifiable under Part P.

EV chargers — special considerations

EV charger installation involves overlapping regulatory regimes:

• Part P — notifiable circuit installation
• BS 7671 Section 722 — specific requirements for EV charging installations
• DNO Notification G98 (≤16A) or G99 (>16A) — for connection of generation; for chargers without solar export this is informational only
• Smart Charge Points Regulations 2021 — chargers must support smart functionality, default off-peak charging
• OZEV Grant compliance — additional administrative requirements if claiming Workplace or Homecharge grants

A typical 32A home EV charger requires:

• New dedicated 32A circuit on a Type B RCBO (or 6kA rated Type A RCD + MCB)
• Earth electrode or PEN-fault detection (depends on supply earthing system)
• Compliance with the Smart Charge Points Regulations
• DNO notification

This is well outside the scope of an unregistered smart-home installer.

Working with electrical contractors as a smart-home company

Smart-home companies without in-house Part P electricians have three commercial models:

1. Electrical contractor as subcontractor

The smart-home company is the principal contractor. They subcontract notifiable electrical work to a registered electrician. The electrician issues certificates in the homeowner's name. The smart-home company manages overall delivery.

2. Electrical contractor as principal

Reverse arrangement — particularly for projects already led by an electrician (new build, major refurb). The smart-home company is subcontracted in for low-voltage and integration work.

3. In-house electrician

The smart-home company employs at least one CPS-registered electrician. This adds overhead but enables single-point delivery.

In all models, paperwork must be clear about which firm is responsible for what work and which is providing certification. Where a homeowner ends up with no certificate or inadequate certificates, the smart-home company often gets the complaint regardless of contractual structure.

What happens if Part P is ignored?

If notifiable work is done without compliance:

• The homeowner has unsigned-off work that is technically illegal under Building Regulations
• Conveyancers will flag this on sale and require retrospective certification
• Insurance may be invalidated for any claim related to that work
• Local authority can issue an enforcement notice requiring retrospective compliance
• For major safety failures, prosecution under the Building Act 1984 (max £5,000 fine + criminal record)

Retrospective certification typically costs £500-£1,500 for a third-party EICR + remedial works. The original "saving" of avoiding compliance is usually wiped out.

Frequently Asked Questions

I'm just changing a light switch to a smart switch — do I need an electrician?

If the switch is in a non-special location (lounge, bedroom, hallway) and the existing circuit has the appropriate wiring (live and neutral, or live-only if your smart switch supports no-neutral), the work is non-notifiable. You don't legally need a registered electrician. However, the work must comply with BS 7671 — correct termination, polarity, no exposed live parts. If you don't understand those terms, hire an electrician.

Can a CEDIA-certified installer do mains electrical work?

CEDIA does not certify mains electrical work. A CEDIA member who is also a Part P registered electrician can do both. A CEDIA member without electrical registration must subcontract or refer mains work to a registered electrician. Many CEDIA members hold both CEDIA membership and Part P registration; check before contracting.

Do I need Part P notification for a 12V garden lighting kit?

If the supply transformer plugs into an existing socket, no. If a new dedicated 230V circuit is installed for the transformer, yes. The 12V output side (after the transformer) is SELV and outside Part P scope, but BS 7671 still applies to its design and installation.

Is replacing a consumer unit always notifiable?

Yes. A consumer unit replacement always requires notification regardless of where the dwelling is, the age of the existing unit, or whether circuits are altered. New consumer units must comply with current BS 7671 (RCD/RCBO protection, surge protective device — SPD — under amended A2:2022).

Regulations & Standards

• Building Regulations Part P (Approved Document P, 2013 with subsequent amendments) — Electrical safety in dwellings

• BS 7671:2018+A2:2022 — Requirements for Electrical Installations (the IET Wiring Regulations)

• BS 7909:2024 — Electrical events; supplementary

• BS EN 61140 — Protection against electric shock

• BS EN 60898 / 60947 series — Circuit protection devices

• The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 — Statutory health and safety legislation

• Smart Charge Points Regulations 2021 — EV charger smart functionality requirements

• G98 and G99 — DNO connection requirements for embedded generation/storage

• CDM 2015 — applies on larger projects with multiple contractors

• Approved Document P — gov.uk

• BS 7671:2018+A2:2022 — IET Wiring Regulations

• NICEIC — Competent Persons Scheme provider

• NAPIT — Competent Persons Scheme provider

• ELECSA — Competent Persons Scheme provider

• Smart Charge Points Regulations 2021 — Statutory instrument

• Energy Networks Association — G98/G99 — DNO connection requirements

• cedia membership smart home — Smart home trade body context

• smart home consumer unit considerations — Consumer unit changes for smart home circuits

• smart lighting installation — Smart switch wiring and Part P implications

• smart heating controls — Smart heating control wiring and notifiability

• smart home system specification — Coordinating Part P-compliant electrical work into project specification