You need a simple repair of your living room’s electrical wiring system. The job looks too simple and you are tempted to grab your boots and make it a DIY job but since you risk burning the house down, you opt to have an expert fix the issue.
The only problem is that electricians you stumble upon may not have a license. Sure, they do a good job but haven’t fulfilled licensing requirements and hence have no electrical licenses. You can’t help but wonder: Is hiring a licensed electrician really that important? Well, as a guide, here are the top legal perks that you stand to gain by working with a licensed electrician in Toronto.
- Liability In Case Things Go South
One of the reasons you’d rather shell out more of your cash for a licensed electrician than an unlicensed one is because they take full responsibility if something goes wrong. Legally speaking, all licensed electricians are required to meet certain liability insurance requirements. From a general standpoint, they need to have a minimum $5 million public insurance plus a further $50,000 consumer protection component. You have the right to sue a licensed electrician if they don’t take care of all medical bills incurred as a result of an injury while on the operation.
- Safety Codes
All electrical work including installation, repair, and maintenance needs to comply with the Toronto Electrical safety code. This code explains how electrical work should be conducted. All licensed electricians abide by this safety code to the letter, failure to which you, as the client, you can take legal action against them.
- Electrical Permits
You cannot just wake up and fix your electrical wiring; you need a permit or the Electrical Inspection Form. All electricians should produce a permit 48 hours before any work commences. Even if you decide to do your own electrical work, you will be required to hop into the Toronto Electrical Safety Authority and obtain an electrical permit.
The legal repercussions of ignoring this all-important step of electrical work can easily land you in trouble with the local authorities.You could pay hefty fines or go to jail if you cannot provide evidence of having a permit before getting to work. Furthermore, if you are planning to sell your property in the future, sellers might be hard to come by if the electrical work in your house was done without a permit.
What’s more, if you plan on building a house in the near future, you want to familiarize yourself with licensed electricians. This is because they will come in handy when you will be running from office to office looking for a wiring permit for your new house.
Hopefully, you see why you can’t afford to pick just anyone for your electrical needs. The stakes are high. You could spend the rest of your life taking care of penalties or worse spend a good amount of time in jail. Take a look at the numbers if you aren’t yet convinced. On average, unlicensed work attracts penalties of up to $400,000 and if there’s a risk of death, illness or serious injury, you could part with $600,000 or face five years imprisonment.