Electrical Certificate of Compliance (C.O.C.), on Transfer of Ownership and in accordance with the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993.
If you have recently purchased fixed property, it is most likely that one of the provisions of the Sale Agreement was that the seller of the property would supply you with an Electrical Certificate of Compliance (C.O.C.).
The provisions of the Occupational Health and Safety Act 85 of 1993 stipulate that unless otherwise specified, the electrical installation of the fixed property may not be marketed or sold unless the safety requirements have been complied with. In other words, the C.O.C. must be a valid document in the sale process.
If, as a new user of the electrical installation, you have any doubt as to the validity of the C.O.C. or believes that the C.O.C. may have been obtained under dubious conditions or circumstances, you should have the electrical installation checked as soon as possible.
As this matter is encompassed within legal processes, it is important that this check be done by an Approved Inspection Authority to obtain “evidence” of non-compliance before any person with potential vested interest becomes involved in accessing the electrical installation.
Always keep in mind that failure to adhere to legal processes could severely prejudice any rights of recovery that you may have as a result of the property sale process.