Navigating Energy Performance Certificates and Landlord Certifications in Glasgow's West End

Introduction

Scotland, known for its picturesque landscapes and vibrant cities, has been at the forefront of sustainable living and environmental awareness. This commitment to green living extends to the housing sector, where Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) and various landlord certifications Glasgow play a pivotal role. In this blog, we will explore the importance of EPCs and other landlord certifications, focusing on their significance in the West End of Glasgow.

Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs)

An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) is a document that provides information on the energy efficiency of a property. EPCs Glasgow are crucial for both landlords and tenants, as they offer insight into a property's energy consumption and carbon emissions. In Scotland, it is mandatory for landlords to obtain an EPC before marketing their property for rent. The certificate rates a property on a scale from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient) and provides recommendations for improving energy efficiency.

Why are EPCs important in the West End of Glasgow?

1. Sustainability: The West End of Glasgow is known for its beautiful historic buildings, many of which have been converted into rental properties. Ensuring these buildings are energy-efficient is crucial for reducing their carbon footprint and contributing to Glasgow's sustainability goals.

2. Tenant Attraction: EPC ratings are often considered by environmentally conscious tenants when choosing a rental property. A high EPC rating can make your property more appealing to potential tenants in the West End.

3. Legal Requirement: Failure to provide an EPC when renting out a property in Scotland can result in penalties. Complying with this requirement is essential for landlords in the West End.

Other Landlord Certifications in Glasgow

Apart from EPCs, there are other certifications that landlords may need to consider, depending on their property type and location. In the West End of Glasgow, the following certifications are particularly relevant:

1. Gas Safety Certificate: If your rental property has gas appliances, a Gas Safety Certificate is mandatory. This certification ensures that all gas appliances are safe and working correctly. Landlords must arrange annual inspections by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

2. Electrical Installation Condition Report (EICR): An EICR is essential for ensuring the safety of electrical installations in rental properties. It is recommended that landlords in Scotland obtain an EICR every five years or whenever there is a change in tenancy.

3. Smoke and Carbon Monoxide Alarms: All rental properties in Scotland must have working smoke and carbon monoxide alarms installed. It is the landlord's responsibility to ensure that these alarms are in good working order at the start of each tenancy.

4. HMO License: If you plan to rent out a property in the West End of Glasgow to multiple unrelated tenants, you may need a House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) license. The regulations for HMOs are stringent, and compliance is necessary.

Conclusion

In the West End of Glasgow, as in the rest of Scotland, landlords must adhere to a range of certifications and regulations to ensure the safety and well-being of their tenants and the environment. Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) are a fundamental requirement, reflecting the region's commitment to sustainability and energy efficiency. Additionally, other certifications such as Gas Safety Certificates, EICRs, and HMO licenses are essential to maintain a legal and safe rental property.

By staying informed and meeting these certification requirements, landlords can provide high-quality housing options in the West End of Glasgow, contributing to the area's reputation as a desirable place to live while adhering to Scottish regulations and sustainability goals.

PART P EXPLAINED

Regulations explained

(Part P Is not available in Scotland)

What is Part P of the Building Regulations?

Since 2005, all electrical work in dwellings in England and Wales, whether carried out professionally or as DIY, must meet the requirements of Part P of the Building Regulations.

Part P is in place to keep you and your family as safe as possible from electrical hazards, and applies to new domestic properties, as well as any alterations or additions to electrical installations in existing properties, including full or partial rewires. 

Who is responsible for making sure that electrical work in your home meets the requirements of Part P?

By law, the homeowner or landlord must be able to prove that all electrical installation work on their property meets the requirements of Part P, or they will be committing a criminal offence.

Local Authorities have the power to make homeowners or landlords remove or alter any work that does not meet the requirements of the Building Regulations.

England

What electrical work is notifiable in England?

Electrical work which requires notification differs between England and Wales. Additional changes were introduced to Part P in England in April 2013. This means that electrical work in a dwelling, or associated with its surroundings, is notifiable to a local building control body where it includes: 

• circuit alteration or addition in a special location*
• installation of one or more new circuits
• installation of a replacement consumer unit (fuse box)
• rewire of all circuits
• partial rewire
• new full electrical installation (new build)

* Certain zones within a room containing a bath or shower, or a room containing a swimming pool or sauna heater.

An alteration or addition to an existing circuit in a room containing a bath or shower is notifiable only where carried out in the space surrounding a bath or shower shown below:

What do I need to do if I wish to have electrical installation work carried out in my home?

All electrical work in the home in England must comply with Part P of the Building Regulations. In addition, those items described as notifiable above are required by Law to have a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate.

It is strongly recommended that you employ an electrical installer who is registered with one of the Government-approved Scheme Operators listed on this website. This is the only way in which you can be sure of employing someone who has had their domestic electrical competence verified and is authorised under the Regulations to arrange for you to be issued with the Building Regulations Compliance Certificate. 

There are other ways of complying with the Building Regulations, but these do not verify the competence of the electrical installer and they involve making a further payment for electrical work to be inspected. The most common route for home owners to do this is by informing the Building Control Department of your local authority before the work commences. See www.planningportal.gov.uk for full details of how to comply with building and planning regulations.

What should I do if the work is non-notifiable in England? 

If you determine that the work is not subject to notification under Building Regulations, we strongly recommend that you use a competent, registered electrical installer for safety reasons.

Wales

What electrical work is notifiable in Wales?

The following are examples of electrical installation work in a dwelling, or associated with its surroundings, that is notifiable to a Local Authority Building Control in Wales: 

In general:

• a complete new installation or rewire; or 
• the replacement of a consumer unit (fusebox); or 
• the installation of: 
• a new circuit, whether at low voltage (typically 230 V) or extra-low voltage); 
• a solar photovoltaic power supply; 
• electric ceiling or floor heating; 
• ­an electrical generator; 
• ­power / control wiring for a central heating system

In a special location*, the installation of:

• wiring/equipment for telephone or extra-low voltage communications, information technology, control or similar purposes
• a prefabricated equipment set and any associated leads with integral plug and socket connections (for example lighting)

In a kitchen** or special location:

• extension of an existing circuit within a kitchen or special location

Outside of the dwelling, the installation of:

• a supply to a detached garage, shed or other outbuilding 
• a supply to an electric gate or pond pump 
• garden lighting 
• a socket-outlet

* A special location is a room containing a bath or shower, swimming pool or a sauna heater
** For Building Regulations purposes, a kitchen is a room or part of a room which contains a sink and food preparation facilities

What do I need to do before electrical installation work can be carried out in my home?

All electrical work in the home in Wales must comply with Part P of the Building Regulations. In addition, those items described as notifiable above are required by Law to have a Building Regulations Compliance Certificate.

It is strongly recommended that you employ an electrical installer who is registered with one of the Government-approved Scheme Operators listed on this website. This is the only way in which you can be sure of employing someone who has had their domestic electrical competence verified and is authorised under the Regulations to arrange for you to be issued with the Building Regulations Compliance Certificate. 

There are other ways of complying with the Building Regulations, but these do not verify the competence of the electrical installer and they involve making a further payment for electrical work to be inspected. The most common route for home owners to do this is by informing the Building Control Department of your local authority before the work commences. See www.planningportal.gov.uk for full details of how to comply with building and planning regulations.

What should I do if the work is non-notifiable in Wales?

If you determine that the work is not subject to notification under Building Regulations, we strongly recommend that you use a competent, registered electrical installer for safety reasons.

Glasgow

Electricians in Hyndland Westend Glasgow

By not following electrical regulations and ignoring safety advice, is responsible for many many deaths every year in the United Kingdom. This is why the Government have bought in more electrical regulations in the form of Part P in England . In March 2006 the Electrical Safety Council published some amazing figures. 42% of home owners stated they had never had their electrics checked. 32% of DIY enthusiasts said they had experienced electrical shocks while working on their homes.

A staggering 59% of people do not use, or refer to a qualified electrician when doing electrical work. 35% of homeowners said their electrical installation were older than 20 years and had not had a period inspection by a qualified electrician. Electrical installations should be checked at least every 10 years. There are 12,500 electrical fires in homes across the UK every year so please pay attention to electrical regulations and stay safe. Advice on electrical safety for householders can be found here www.esc.org.uk Please also see our project on the New Wiring and Cable Colours . Checklist: overall safety how it works cables fuses ceiling rose Please remember when attempting any electrical installations at home that you are obliged to get the completed job tested by a fully qualified electrician and obtain a minor works certificate.

Failure to do this may render your house insurance invalid and you may have difficulty selling your home. Please see our project on PART P BUILDING REGULATIONS Safety Check all walls for wires and pipes before cutting out for any new cables and boxes. A detector such as the one below can identify cables in the wall. Click on the image to buy. Scroll to the bottom for all tools and equipment or click through to Neweys Online If in any doubt whatever consult a qualified electrician. There is a legal requirement to obtain a completion certificate from a qualified electrician for any work you do that requires a mains connection. For any work within circuits a minor works certificate should be obtained. Turn off the power and remove the fuse from any circuit you are working on. Make sure no-one can turn the power on by mistake. Use only approved materials. How it works An electrical supply will come to your home at a main, sealed fuse called a service head and from there will go to your meter via one large red and one large black wire. The meter measures how much electricity you use. At no time should you touch either the service head or the meter. From here the electricity will go to your consumer unit, from where it is distributed around the house. Each circuit is fused at this box either by an amp rated fuse wire, or a trip switch if you have an RCD consumer unit. (Residual Current Device) The amount of electricity available to you is measured in Volts, and the rate at which it flows along its conductors is measured in amps.

The power required by any appliance is measured in Watts. the formula for working out the correct cable and fuse is; Watts divided by Volts equals Amps Electricity flows along the live wire, feeding whatever is required and then returns along the neutral wire to its local transformer. The flow can be stopped by the insertion of a switch, which for all practical DIY purposes is placed in the live wire. Switches, most often, will be linked from your ceiling rose through a separate cable, even though one of the wires in this cable is black it is still live. Electricity will always find the shortest or easiest route and you may represent it, so be careful Cables Fixed wiring is done in cable. This consists of individual conductors (wires) sheathed separately, by insulation to prevent leakage. The earth or "ground" wire is normally bare. The wires are then jointly covered by the outer sheath. The wires are colour coded, red for live, black for neutral and green/yellow striped for earth, where this is covered. Modern cables are sheathed with PVC which has an indefinite life, older cables were rubber with about 20/30 years life. If your home has these cables do not attempt electrical extensions with them. When installed, bare earth wires should be covered with an "earth sleeve" which can be bought in all sizes at an electrical

store or most diy stores. 1.5mm is most common in lighting circuits. When installed it must not exceed 110m in length and carries a fuse rating of 5amps. (6 amps if used in conjunction with a miniature circuit breaker). It is acceptable to run 1200 Watts on this cable, the equivalent of 12 x 100 Watt bulbs, but lighting circuits are normally run independently on each floor of your house. 2.5mm (as above but larger) is usually used for the installation of power sockets on a ring main. The circuit uses a 30 amp fuse at the consumer unit (32 with a MCB). Cable length must not exceed 60m or 50m with an MCB. Three core and earth is used to interconnect switches with more than one operation: Flex, is simply flexible cable and is used for connecting appliances. The colour coding is different using brown for live, blue for neutral and green/yellow stripes for earth. There are many more cables for connecting cookers etc, but these are generally run directly from the consumer unit and require a professional electrician for their installation. For more information on these and any other cables please go to appointments and ask the diy doctor. Fuses Fuses are placed into a circuit as a deliberate weak point. If anything goes wrong within your circuit, the fuse will "blow" first. With the modern RCD boxes, the trip switch will go. 

BUT BEFORE YOU PUSH IT BACK ON, LOCATE THE REASON WHY IT TRIPPED.

 Most of the time it is because the circuit has been overloaded or there is an earth fault. If you are in doubt contact an electrician. Ceiling Rose We have included ceiling roses in this section because it is the most misunderstood fitting of all. Many people think they can take the old one off, do not mark the wires, and connect a new fitting, black to black, red to red. It is not that easy, because in the majority of cases your light switch will be wired to the rose, and in that case, at least one of the black wires will be live. Below is a diagram of a wired ceiling rose showing you what to look for when working with one

electrician westend Glasgow