The Short Answer
If the electrical installation did not comply when the house was transferred, the seller is generally responsible for fixing it. In a November 2025 notice, the Department of Employment and Labour stated that the seller is "held legally accountable for rectifying all defects and obtaining a new CoC at their own expense". The electrician who signed the certificate can face civil claims, deregistration and, if the certificate was fraudulent, criminal charges.
Your job is to prove it. That means an independent inspection, a written report, photos, and a letter to the seller before anyone starts repairing.
We are electricians, not attorneys
This guide explains the technical side and the general legal position as it is commonly understood. Your rights depend on your sale agreement and the facts, so speak to a property attorney before you send demands or start legal action.
Signs the COC Wasn't Worth the Paper
Some faults appear after transfer for honest reasons. A geyser element can fail the week you move in. But certain things simply cannot exist in an installation that was properly tested shortly before transfer:
No earth leakage, or a bypassed one
Earth leakage protection is tested on every COC inspection. If it is missing, bridged out or does not trip on the test button, it was missing on test day too.
Sockets with no earth
A cheap plug tester from a hardware store will show this. Unearthed socket outlets fail an inspection outright.
An unlabelled or open DB board
Missing covers, exposed live parts, no circuit labels, or wires crammed into breakers that are obviously the wrong size.
No bonding to the geyser or water pipes
Look in the roof space at the geyser. There should be a green-and-yellow earth conductor clamped to the pipework.
A clean pass on a very old installation
A 40-year-old house that passed with zero repairs is possible, but uncommon. Ask for the invoice for any repairs the seller says were done.
No test report
If all you received is a single-page certificate with no readings, you do not have a complete COC.
If the earth leakage keeps tripping, our guide to why an earth leakage keeps tripping will help you work out whether it is a new fault or a long-standing one.
How to Check if a COC Is Valid
Get a copy of the full certificate and test report from your conveyancer if you don't have one. Then work through this list:
COC validity checklist
- The registered person's full name and registration number are on it
- The electrical contractor's registration number is on it
- A test report is attached, with actual measured values, not blanks or ticks
- The address and erf number match your property
- It covers the whole installation, not just one addition
- It was issued less than two years before the transfer date
- The registration category fits the property: single-phase testers cannot certify three-phase installations
- The registration was active on the date the certificate was signed
To confirm the registration, contact the Department of Employment and Labour, which keeps the register of registered persons and electrical contractors, and cross-check with the Electrical Conformance Board of South Africa (ECB). There are three categories of registered person: Electrical Tester for Single Phase, Installation Electrician, and Master Installation Electrician. Each can only certify installations within its scope.
A certificate signed by someone who was not registered, or outside their category, is not a COC at all. The Department has also warned that registered contractors may not sign certificates on behalf of unregistered people. Doing so is a criminal offence and grounds for losing their registration. For a deeper look at checking an electrician's credentials, see how to find a qualified electrician.
Who Is Liable: Seller, Electrician or Conveyancer?
Three parties touched the certificate before it reached you. Their exposure is different.
The seller
The seller must provide a valid COC before transfer, and the Department's position is that the seller pays to fix defects found afterwards. Legal commentators note that hiring an electrician who turned out to be unqualified does not automatically get the seller off the hook with the buyer, although the seller may in turn claim from that electrician.
The electrician who signed it
Issuing a COC without a proper inspection, or without doing the repairs it claims were done, exposes the electrician to civil claims from both buyer and seller, professional sanctions including deregistration, and possible criminal charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act or for fraud.
The conveyancer
Usually not. Conveyancers rely on certificates from registered professionals and do not inspect installations. Their role is to make sure a certificate exists, not to test the wiring.
What about the voetstoots clause?
Sellers often point to it. Generally, it doesn't help them here. Voetstoots covers the condition of the property, but the duty to hand over a valid electrical COC comes from the regulations and is normally a separate term in the sale agreement. Your attorney will confirm how it applies to your contract.
What to Do Now, in the Right Order
The order matters. The most common mistake we see is a buyer who fixes everything first and then tries to claim, with no evidence left of what was wrong.
Make it safe
If anything is sparking, smells burnt, or gives a shock, switch that circuit off, or the main switch if you cannot isolate it. Safety comes before evidence. Only make safe what is dangerous; leave the rest for the inspection.
Photograph everything
The DB board with the cover off is ideal if an electrician can do it, plus problem sockets, the geyser area and any visible wiring. Date-stamped photos are your evidence.
Get the original COC and test report
Your conveyancer will have a copy. You need the registration numbers on it and the readings it claims were measured.
Get an independent inspection
From a registered electrician with no connection to the original one. Ask for a written report against SANS 10142-1 listing each non-compliance, with photos and a quote for the repairs. Where a reading in the old test report could not possibly be true, ask them to note it.
Notify the seller in writing
Through your attorney or at least in writing, attaching the report and quote. Give the seller a reasonable opportunity to respond or to have the defects fixed.
Report the electrician
Lay a complaint with the Department of Employment and Labour, and with the ECB where the contractor is a member. Complaints are how certificates issued without inspections get stopped.
Repair and certify
Once the evidence is secured, have the work done and a new COC issued. Keep every invoice. Claims do not stay open forever, so do not let this drift for months.
What It Costs to Find Out (2026)
An independent inspection is the cheapest part of this process and the one everything else depends on. These are our 2026 prices for the inspection and for the repairs we find most often on certificates that should never have been issued.
| Item | 2026 price (excl VAT) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Independent inspection with written report | From R1,200 | Every non-compliant item listed, with photos |
| Inspection plus new COC | R2,050 | Re-inspection after repairs included |
| Earth leakage relay replacement | R800 to R1,500 | Missing, faulty or too slow to trip |
| Bonding installation | R500 to R1,200 | Geyser, water pipes, structural steel |
| Earth rod installation | R800 to R1,500 | High earth resistance or missing electrode |
| Polarity correction | R300 to R800 | Reversed live and neutral connections |
| DB board upgrade | R4,500 to R8,500 | Where the board itself cannot be made compliant |
Older houses can need more, sometimes partial or full rewiring. Our COC cost guide and pricing page have the full list.
Haven't Transferred Yet? Protect Yourself Now
Your position is much stronger before registration than after it. If you are mid-sale and something about the certificate worries you:
- Ask the conveyancer for a copy of the COC and test report as soon as it is issued, not on transfer day
- Run it through the checklist above and verify the registration
- Ask the seller's permission for your own electrician to inspect, especially on an older house
- Raise problems in writing through the conveyancer before registration
- On your next purchase, consider a clause letting you appoint or approve the electrician
Also check the certificate's age. A property cannot change ownership on a COC older than two years, and any alterations since it was issued need their own certificate. Our guide on how long a COC is valid explains the rule.
A Word to Sellers
The cheapest COC on offer can become the most expensive one you ever buy. If it was issued without a real inspection, the buyer's claim lands on you first, often months after the sale money has been spent.
Protect yourself by using a verifiably registered electrician, asking for the full test report and photos of any repairs, and keeping proof of payment. Be wary of anyone who offers a certificate without a site visit, or issues one in twenty minutes on a house that obviously needed work. Our guide to selling with a COC walks through doing it properly.
Questions We Get Asked
Straight answers, from a registered COC inspector in Pretoria.
Can the original electrician just come back and fix it?
They can offer, and sometimes it is the quickest route. Get your independent report first so you know the full scope, and do not let them reissue a certificate over work you have not had checked.
The fault appeared after I moved in. Is the seller still liable?
Not necessarily. A component that failed after transfer is different from an installation that never complied. The inspection report should distinguish between the two.
Will your report stand up as evidence?
Our reports list each non-compliance against SANS 10142-1 with measured values and photographs, which is what attorneys usually need.
Can I stay in the house while this is sorted out?
Usually yes, with dangerous circuits switched off. If the problem is in the main board or earthing, we will make the installation safe on the first visit.
What if the electrician has disappeared?
Your claim against the seller does not depend on finding the electrician. Report the certificate to the Department of Employment and Labour regardless.
Does this apply to electric fence and gas certificates too?
The same principle applies to each compliance certificate, but each has its own rules. See our electric fence COC guide for that one.
Evidence First, Repairs Second
A bad COC is frustrating, but it is not a dead end. The law puts the cost on the seller and the consequences on the electrician who signed it. What gets you there is a clear, independent record of what was wrong, made before anything was fixed.
We carry out independent inspections across Pretoria, Centurion, Midrand and the surrounding areas, and write reports that set out exactly what does not comply and why. If repairs are needed, we quote them separately and you decide who does the work.
Call 072 681 4615 or request an inspection online. Have the COC and test report handy when you call.
Written by Andre
Registered Electrician & Founder of INC Unlimited Pty. Ltd
With over 30 years of experience in the electrical trade across Pretoria and Gauteng, Andre and the INC Unlimited team have completed over 500 COC inspections, installations, and electrical projects. SANS 10142 compliant. Based in Equestria, Pretoria.