Real Estate Investor Magazine South Africa May 2014 | Page 36

COMPLIANCE MAKING SURE THE PLUMBING WORKS • A Plumbing Certificate of Compliance will only be valid if the issuer belongs to the Institute of Plumbing South Africa(IOPSA) - something that can be easily checked on the website. According to the Plumbing Industry Registration Board a certificate needs to be issued for the following: • Where the total value of work, including materials, labour and VAT, is more than R1500.00 (material costs must be included, regardless of whether the materials were supplied by another person) • The installation, relocation or replacement of any Electric Water Heating System, regardless of the cost • For every separate installation on a site • The construction, installation or alteration of any above or below ground sanitary drain; regardless of the cost • The installation, relocation or replacement of any Hot Water Solar Water Heating System • The installation, relocation or replacement of any Heat Pump Water Heating System At present there doesn’t seem to be a set period of validity when obtaining a plumbing certificate and transfer lawyers recommend getting a new certificate issued when selling a property. CHECKING UP ON ELECTRIC FENCES With more and more home owners opting for electric fencing as a security measure an Electrical Fence System Compliance Certificate is now also required where applicable. Carol McDonald from the Southern African Legal Information Institute (Saffli) points out that “The requirement does not apply to a system in existence prior to 1 October 2012. However, a certificate will be required for the sale of any property, surrounded by an electric fence, for which the sale was registered after 1 October 2012. NO HASSLES WITH GAS Essentially the gas COC works like an Electrical Certificate of Compliance in that so many people are now installing gas in their homes. It is important to note that an Electrical Compliance Certificate and an Electric Fence System COC are two different documents. It’s also imperative that an electric fence system is certified by an approved installer - an ordinary electrician’s assessment won’t be accepted. RESOURCES Leapfrog Properties 34 May 2014 SA Real Estate Investor SUBSCRIBE www.reimag.co.za