A landlord in Tiverton rang us last week asking why her periodic inspection report flagged a socket circuit that “passed fine two years ago.” The honest answer is the regs move on, and from 15 October 2026 they move on again — BS 7671 Amendment 4 becomes the only permitted edition for new work, alterations and inspections anywhere in the country, and the previous edition gets withdrawn outright.
For a rewire that’s mostly paperwork. For testing and inspection work it’s more. Under the updated Electrotechnical Assessment Specification, competence is moving from being certified at company level to being assessed individual by individual, and that net now explicitly covers subcontractors, agency labour and self-employed electricians working under someone else’s certification — not just direct employees. Anyone doing EV charging, solar PV connections, battery storage or periodic inspection work needs to hold the right individual qualification by 1 October, a fortnight before Amendment 4 lands.
We cover re-wires, consumer unit swaps and fault-finding across Cullompton, Wellington, Tiverton and Exeter, and out to Kentisbeare, Bradninch and Broadclyst, and we’re seeing the practical end of this daily — an old fuse box with rewireable fuses and no RCD protection, or earthing that was compliant when it went in but wouldn’t pass a test today. A new consumer unit with RCBOs on the individual circuits, proper earthing at the MET, and a fresh EICR sorts most of it in a day.
If you’re a landlord, letting agent or homeowner in Mid Devon wanting your electrics checked before the new regs bite, Reed Electrical Services can get an EICR booked in. We’re based at Culm Lea in Cullompton — call 07775 943933 or reach us through reedelectricalservices.co.uk/..