UK qualified electrician

I’m throwing this out there in the hope that someone might be able to shed some light on this for me.
My daughter is an NICEIC qualified electrician in the UK. I’m hoping to retire to my French house next year, but there’s work to do, including electrics. I’m probably going to need the consumer unit updating and in the UK this is notifiable. Im assuming its similar in France, but what authority would it be notifiable to?
Any suggestions welcome.

Surprisingly not (as I understand it) - no direct equivalent of “Part P” exists. EDF will inspect new installations though - if not done by a qualified electrician.

Also note (should your daughter do the work) there are important differences between French regs and UK ones and you need to stick to the French way of doing things

It’s written originally in 2010 but this book is an excellent reference…

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Obviously she’s gonna have to find the French regs, but notification is the thing she was most concerned about. Apparently in the UK if you’re not NICEIC you’re not obliged to notify and can get away with all sorts, but if you are, you have to notify. Scary!
When you say ‘new installation’, do you mean changing the consumer unit, or just a for a new build.? Technically she’ll just be doing a rewire not a new installation.

Thank you. That might be helpful, but I’m sure regs will have changed since then.

I’ve posted it before but I found this quite useful to grasp the basic setup.

Guide-International.pdf (3.7 MB)

And you might find this useful if your French is up to it
MM216017_Guide_norme_NFC-15100_Fevrier2017.pdf

Not sure that is quite true - you are supposed to notify significant work (eg installation of a new circuit) to local authority buildings inspections under “Part P” whoever you are. It’s just that if you are qualified it will normally go through without an inspector bothering.

Of course if you are qualified and you don’t notify it is probably somewhat more serious in terms of sanctions.

IIRC there is only a requirement for the Consuel to become involved in the process of supply to a new property before ERDF (or Enedis) will connect the supply. That is not the issue with you by all accounts.
We had to do this with our new build but I believe existing supplies are somewhat different.
The book was extremely useful to us in understanding the whole issue of supply and you should not discount it merely on the basis of it being (perhaps) out of date.

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As Graham says EDF won’t be that interested as long as you can do the work without disturbing the EDF board or breaking their seals. It’s almost easier than in the UK as you can turn the whole supply off at the meter, as long as the “tails” coming from the EDF part are adequate you won’t need to involve them.

I re-wired our tableau as the previous owner was a cheapskate and had fuses rather than breakers (and the différentiel didn’t work anyway), plus new circuits for the kitchen, washing machine, hob etc.

The problem if you do a complete rewire yourself will be insurance - you won’t have the benefit of the décennale and if there was ever a fault leading to a fire you mught find things tricky with your buildings/contents insurance (yes, I’m probably in the same boat).

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Re insurance @fabien can advise but re guarantees - presumably if it’s your daughter, you are unlikely to need to sue…!!

Yes but there’s a difference between ‘qualified’ and NICEIC registered. Many “qualified” electrician don’t register and it’s not obligatory.

I would certainly hope not :wink:

As I said it does not really matter from the point of view of notification under “Part P” - even if the homeowner with no electrical qualifications whatsoever does the work there is still a legal obligation to notify the local authority planning dept before the work is undertaken. Except that qualified electricians can, I think, self certify their work. More info here

Do you have a system where it could be tested and passed by a French electrician? Obviously only as a last option as I need to keep costs down. Even paying her to come over with her apprentice and stay in my house Im still saving about 7k.

Thank you for that. I’ve also just found this
https://sarlwiseman.com/blog/posts

I once asked this question (possibly on this very website) - the answer was basically that no French electrician (and no sensible British one either) would certify another’s work without wanting full payment (as they are taking on board the professional risk for the installation).

Ah, now THAT is a can of worms you don’t want to open - you can’t pay her, you doubly can’t pay an apprentice.

  • it brings her under French tax law
  • she becomes an employer in France
  • it brings the requirement for her to be qualified and registered in France

Here’s my thoughts (after 20 years here and multiple renovations) - just get her over here and do it. it’s a renovation so basically no one cares . You know the quality of her work and that’s enough for you.

Enjoy your new property!

X

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I think it is safe to say that Elaine would not want to sue her daughter :slight_smile:
Of course her insurer might not be so reluctant.

To be fair the chance of a problem with the installation will be tiny, indeed the chance of anyone figuring out that payment had been made & accepted for work carried out in France, or that the “friend” helping was an apprentice is similarly miniscule. Working “on the black” and without qualifications or correct registration is hardly unknown in France.

But as this is a public forum I don’t think we can be seen to be actually advocating that Elaine take a course which would result in her being on the wrong side of the law - were it to come out at some later date.

Ah of course, but since I’m only paying for the materials that doesn’t apply. I’ve spent enough on her over the years. It’ll be hers when I croak, so she has a vested interest.

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Hi @oldbird … careful with this… this is simply illegal in France to do that. The construction business is heavily regulated here and ALL builders (even painters for information) need to be registered in France (have a SIRET number) but also need to have a 10 years insurance in France (RC Décennale). Failure to get both these things is a felony (like jail time level offense). Of course no one would know but if a jealous neighbor calls the cops and they come for a routine inspection you’ll both be in for some serious trouble (you for “travail illégal dissimulé” and her for unregistered business and failure to comply with EU/FR construction laws).

So if she comes over you need to declare this as “auto construction” so basically you declare that you are doing this yourself and no paid labor is involved (and then you come to terms with your daughter another way :wink: ).

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