Installers must protect consumers and notify work, says OFTEC

Most installers know it is a legal requirement under Building Regulations in England and Wales, the Channel Isles and Isle of Man to inform the relevant local authority about the installation of notifiable heat producing appliances, oil tanks and some heating and hot water services.

However, with more appliances sold each year higher than actually notified, it’s clear not all installers are taking their responsibility to notify work seriously.

If an installation isn’t notified, it’s actually the homeowner who has broken the law, not the installer. But with so many homeowners unaware of the regulations, OFTEC says installers must accept their role of fulfilling the legal requirements on behalf of their customers.

Adrian Lightwood, OFTEC’s registration services director, says: “Many homeowners are blissfully ignorant of the need to notify and it’s often only when they come to sell their property and the buyer’s solicitor asks to see the documents, that the true situation is revealed.

“Homeowners are then faced with having to track down the original installer installer to seek a retrospective regularisation order from the local authority for the unauthorised work, or take out indemnity insurance against contraventions of building regulations for the buyer – often at very short notice and adding to the cost and stress of the move.”

The ability to self-notify is one of the key benefits of OFTEC registration. Removing the need to involve a local authority saves both time and money, benefitting the installer and customer alike. Notifications can be completed in just a few minutes, either online or by fax, and cost just £2.50 each.

Adrian Lightwood concludes: “OFTEC registration is all about providing homeowners with the reassurance that technicians are fully competent to carry out work and can be trusted. Failing to notify installation work goes against everything OFTEC registration stands for and breaches an installer’s duty of care to their customer.”

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