WHAT IS AN ELECTRICAL COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATE?

An Electrical Compliance Certificate, ECC, is a certificate issued by a qualified electrician which certifies that the electrical installation in your home is safe according to minimum standards set in legislation. In terms of the relevant law every electrical installation must have a certificate of compliance. This means that every homeowner must have a valid ECC in respect of his/her home.

ELECTRICAL COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATES AND THE SALE OF YOUR HOME

Most agreements for the sale of your home will have a clause that says the seller must get an ECC when the house is sold.  The reason for this clause is to ensure that when the house is transferred from the seller to the buyer, there is a valid ECC and that the electrical installation is safe when the buyer takes transfer of the home.

The Seller is normally responsible for getting and paying for the ECC and will have to pay for any alterations or repairs that may be necessary before the certificate can be issued.  When the buyer uses a bond to finance the purchase of the home, the bank sometimes makes it a condition of the bond that the seller must get an ECC.

MUST THE SELLER GET A NEW ECC OR WILL THE OLD CERTIFICATE BE ENOUGH?

In terms of newly published regulations dealing with Electrical Compliance Certificates which regulations came into effect on 1 May 2009, an owner of a property may not allow a change of ownership if the ECC is older than two years.  The Gauteng Electrical Inspection Authority is of the view that the ECC should not be older than two years at the time of registration of the Property into the name of the Purchaser.  The new regulations also provide that the ECC must be in the new regulation format and must be accompanied by a test report.  However regardless of whether the ECC is less than two years old, if renovations or alterations have been done after the ECC was initially issued, a new certificate must be issued, alternatively a new certificate must be issued for that part of the property where the work was done. 

WHEN IS THE ELECTRICAL COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATE VALID IN LAW?

The two year rule set out above applies only to the validity of the ECC for the purposes of a change in ownership.  The ECC will otherwise be valid until the seller makes an alteration to the electrical installation in his/her home.  This means that subject to the above rule, an ECC does not become invalid after a certain period of time but rather that a certificate becomes invalid if changes are made.

MUST THE CONVEYANCER HAVE AN ECC BEFORE TRANSFERING THE PROPERTY?

It is not a Deeds Office requirement that there be an ECC before registration can take place and the Conveyancer can therefore register a transfer without an ECC.  The answer to this question is therefore no, unless the contract between the seller and the buyer says that the conveyancing attorney may not transfer the home until a new ECC has been issued.  As mentioned above it is also sometimes a condition of a mortgage bond that the bank is given a copy of the ECC before transfer of the home takes place. It must be stressed however that there is a legal obligation on the Seller to have an ECC that is valid in law.

WHO MAY ISSUE AN ECC AND WHAT CAN YOU DO IF YOU THINK THE ECC IS INVALID?

Only an accredited person i.e. a person who has suitable qualifications and is registered, can issue an ECC.  The electrician has to refuse to issue the certificate if the installation is not safe.  If the buyer thinks the ECC should not have been issued, the buyer can ask the Electrical Contracting Authority to invalidate the ECC.  The seller will then have to re-issue a valid certificate.

MAY AN ELELECTRICAL COMPLIANCE CERTIFICATE BE WAIVED?

The Occupational Heath and Safety Act read with the electrical regulations provides that every electrical installation must have a valid ECC.  This requirement cannot be waived but the responsibility to get the certificate can be shifted from the seller to the purchaser by way of an appropriate clause in the agreement.

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