Installation, notification and certificates
Bathroom lighting is one of the few things in a house where who fits it is a legal question, not just a practical one. This page explains what has to happen, and what we can take off your hands.
Who may do the work
In England and Wales, electrical work in a room containing a bath or shower is notifiable under Part P of the Building Regulations, as is any new circuit or a consumer unit replacement anywhere in the dwelling. Notifiable work must either be carried out by an electrician registered with a competent person scheme — NICEIC, NAPIT, ELECSA and others — who self-certifies it, or be notified to your local authority building control before the work starts.
A straight like-for-like replacement of an existing fitting generally is not notifiable. Adding a light, moving one, adding a shaver socket or extending a circuit in a bathroom is.
Scotland and Northern Ireland operate their own building standards systems with different requirements. Check with your local authority.
What you should receive
- An Electrical Installation Certificate (new circuit) or a Minor Electrical Installation Works Certificate (addition or alteration), signed by the person who did the work.
- A Building Regulations compliance certificate for notifiable work, issued by the scheme provider or by building control.
- Manufacturer instructions and the guarantee registration for each fitting.
Keep all of it. A buyer's solicitor will ask for it, and without it a bathroom refit can hold up a sale.
Let us handle it — fitted packages
Our Fitted By Us packages are supplied and installed by a registered electrician. One price covers the fittings, the labour, the notification and the certificates. We agree a date with you in advance, remove and dispose of the old fittings where you've asked us to, test everything and hand over the paperwork on the day.
What we need from you: access, a working supply, and somewhere to park. What we'll tell you before we start: anything we find once the ceiling is opened that changes the price — a failed existing circuit, no earth at the switch, a ceiling void too shallow for the fitting — quoted before we do it, never after.
Fitting it yourself, or with your own electrician
Everything we sell ships with its instructions, and the technical data is on the product page before you buy. A few things worth passing to whoever is doing the work:
- Check the void depth before ordering downlights. Our slim range is 25mm deep for exactly this reason.
- Fire hoods where the fitting isn't fire rated and there's a room above.
- Gaskets. An IP65 downlight is only IP65 if its gasket seats properly against the ceiling. Replacement gasket sets are on the seals and connectors page.
- IP68 gel connectors in the void above a bathroom, not terminal blocks.
- Trailing-edge dimmers, and check the minimum load — four small LEDs often won't reach it.
- Isolation. Shaver sockets must be isolated to BS EN 61558-2-5. Everything in our isolated collection is.
Extract
Approved Document F requires 15 l/s extract for a bathroom and 6 l/s for a WC-only room. If you're rewiring the lighting anyway, it is the cheapest moment you will ever have to fix the extract too.
Questions before you order
support@homartuk.com · 07868 375682. Send the room dimensions, ceiling height and what's above the ceiling and we'll tell you what's allowed.
This page is general guidance to help you buy the right product. It is not an electrical design and not a substitute for the judgement of a qualified electrician.