Where the electrical scope sits in a warrant
Scottish Building Standards is a functional-standards regime — Technical Handbook Section 4 covers safety, and Chapter 4.5 covers electrical safety. It defers to BS 7671 (the wiring regs) for the technical detail. What the council actually inspects at completion is:
- That a competent person did the work.
- That a valid EIC has been issued for the new circuits.
- That any existing installation affected by the work has been re-tested and remains safe.
- That the smoke, heat and CO alarm coverage meets the current Scottish standard.
What we do on a typical warrant job
Once we've had the builder's drawings we'll price the electrical scope as a fixed lump-sum. We attend on the first-fix (cables and back-boxes in before plasterboard), then on the second-fix (accessories, board work, testing). We stay in touch with the building control officer if any queries come up.
At completion we hand over: EIC for the new work, updated EICR for the existing installation if we've had to touch it, alarm certificate, and a folder of test results. Everything the council needs to sign the completion certificate.
Change-of-use is where it gets fiddly
Splitting a farmhouse into two dwellings, converting an outbuilding into a holiday let, turning a shop into a flat — these are change-of-use warrants and they usually trigger a full electrical upgrade for the affected part of the building. In practice that means a new sub-main from the meter, its own consumer unit, RCD protection on everything, dedicated smoke/heat alarm system for the new dwelling. We've done a fair few of these in Tain and around Dingwall — happy to talk through what your specific building will need before you commit to the warrant.
