Electrical Certificates of Compliance

Writer: LB Vorster.

A general misconception among the majority of property owners is that a seller of fixed property is only legally required, prior to registration of transfer, to furnish a purchaser with an electrical certificate of compliance in respect of the electrical installations at the sold property (also referred to as an electrical clearance certificate).

Consequently the “obligation” is considered to be a prerequisite for transfer (which it is not) and therefore in practice, once a transaction has been concluded, the estate agent involved normally gives instructions to an electrical contractor to undertake an inspection of the electrical installation at the property and to issue a valid electrical certificate of compliance in respect thereof.

However, the truth of the matter is that the Occupational Health and Safety Act makes it compulsory for every owner of fixed property (irrespective of whether a property has been sold and is in the process of being transferred or not) to be in possession of a valid certificate of compliance in respect of any electrical installation at his/her/its property. If a seller is not in possession of an electrical certificate of compliance, then he/she/it contravenes the law.

Click below to read more. (The full article can be found on page 16)