In my opinion the answer is simple.  Yes it needs to comply to BS7671 AMD 2 if completion date of September 2024 is met.

Why would you want the the install to meet the old regulations?  Future EICR would give a C3 code and recommend improvemnts to meet the current standard.  The point of BS7671 is the minimum standard, you can always go above and beyond the intent of BS7671

However the question ramains, who will pay for it?  The customer/The installer/The Designer?

Why would you want the the install to meet the old regulations? 

Because otherwise a large long running job will never finish, as you will be going back to those parts of the site that were 'finished' some years before the regs changed and are now out of date to update them. 

Now the only person who has any money that is their own is the customer, so they will pay, even if via the installers and designers, and the customer will want to pay for whatever they agreed to. Usually an installation to the regs as they stood they day the contract was signed but maybe not.

The saving grace  is that although the regs change, it is incremental ,  and there is rarely some major upheaval so a great many installations to last seasons rules meet current requirements as well.

(We are not going to suddenly adopt American wiring codes for example. Well I hope not... )

Mike.

I understand the logic.  At some point they must draw a line and say

Designed to 18th editon AM1 and installed 18th editon AM1 and tested to 18th editon AM1

They should also do a project and design review at the end and say the what regs and rules have changed since the initial design.

As an example AFDD in BS7671 18th in 2018 were a recommendation

then

BS 7671:2018+A2:2022 Regulation 421.1.7 now requires arc fault detection devices (AFDDs) conforming to BS EN 62606 to be provided for single-phase AC circuits supplying socket-outlets with a rating not exceeding 32 A in the following installations:

There are also other cases.  People did not understand the rules about SPD, a year later it was made clear that you must now fit an SPD in a CU/DB unless a risk assement has been carried out.

I do however see several flaws to this

Brand new install is out of date on day of hand over

in project summation you will need to recommend to the customer the following upgrades

Sergio Fernandez said:

In my opinion the answer is simple.  Yes it needs to comply to BS7671 AMD 2 if completion date of September 2024 is met.

In many cases, only a court or arbitration could decide that, if disputed between a client and contractor. This is supported by the main standard forms of construction contracts. I believe  there are legal precedents.

With respect to products, this is a little more tricky because other legislation may apply - so, for example, the UK government maintains a list of Designated Standards (in the same manner as applicable Harmonized Standards are published in the Official Journal of the EU), which (if the relevant ones to a product are used) are presumed to demonstrate conformity to the relevant legislation.

Sergio Fernandez said:

Brand new install is out of date on day of hand over

in project summation you will need to recommend to the customer the following upgrades

This is what variation clauses are about in standard forms of construction contract. However, the client needs to agree those variations. Sometimes, they may not ...

What's important, is that BS 7671 does contain a statement that says installations to earlier versions of the standard may not comply with the latest version, but that doesn't mean they are unsafe for continued use.

It's important that initial verification is carried out to the same version of the standard that the design and erection was performed to.

My experience includes working on very long contracts, where not only standards, but legislation, whole technology approaches, change over the lifetime of the contract ... it's a very difficult area and needs to be dealt with sensibly. There can certainly not be a "defining rule" such as "standards on date of handover" because you don't have a crystal ball when you start the job 10 or 15 years earlier !

Sergio Fernandez said:

Brand new install is out of date on day of hand over

in project summation you will need to recommend to the customer the following upgrades

This is what variation clauses are about in standard forms of construction contract. However, the client needs to agree those variations. Sometimes, they may not ...

What's important, is that BS 7671 does contain a statement that says installations to earlier versions of the standard may not comply with the latest version, but that doesn't mean they are unsafe for continued use.

It's important that initial verification is carried out to the same version of the standard that the design and erection was performed to.

My experience includes working on very long contracts, where not only standards, but legislation, whole technology approaches, change over the lifetime of the contract ... it's a very difficult area and needs to be dealt with sensibly. There can certainly not be a "defining rule" such as "standards on date of handover" because you don't have a crystal ball when you start the job 10 or 15 years earlier !