Building Regulations (Part B Amendment) Regulations S.I. No. 57/2017

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 3rd March, 2017.

I, SIMON COVENEY, Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 (as amended by sections 4 and 7 of the Building Control Act 2007 (No. 21 of 2007)) and section 18 of the Building Control Act 1990 (No. 3 of 1990) (as adapted by the Environment, Community and Local Government (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2016 ( S.I. No. 394 of 2016 )), hereby make the following regulations:

Citation

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Building Regulations (Part B Amendment) Regulations 2017.

(2) These Regulations and the Building Regulations 1997 ( S.I. No. 497 of 1997 ) may be cited as the Building Regulations 1997 to 2017 and shall be construed together as one.

Commencement

2. Subject to Regulation 3, these Regulations come into operation on 1 July 2017.

Application

3. These Regulations shall apply to works, or a building in which a material change of use takes place, where the works or the change of use commence or take place, as the case may be, on or after 1 July 2017.

Amendment to the Building Regulations 1997

4. The Building Regulations 1997 are amended by inserting after requirement B5 in Part B of the Second Schedule the following:—

“Means of warning and escape in case of fire.	B6	A dwelling house shall be so designed and constructed that there are appropriate provisions for the early warning of fire and there are adequate means of escape in case of fire from the dwelling house to a place of safety outside the building, capable of being safely and effectively used.
Internal fire spread (linings).	B7	For the purpose of inhibiting the spread of fire within a dwelling house, the internal linings:
		(a) shall have, either a rate of heat release or a rate of fire growth and a resistance to ignition which is reasonable in the circumstances; and(b) shall offer adequate resistance to the spread of flame over their surfaces.
Internal fire spread (structure).	B8	(1) A dwelling house shall be so designed and constructed that, in the event of fire, its stability will be maintained for a reasonable period.
		(2) (a) A wall common to a dwelling house and to one or more adjoining buildings shall be so designed and constructed that it offers adequate resistance to the spread of fire between those buildings. (b) A dwelling house shall be sub-divided with fire resisting construction where this is necessary to inhibit the spread of fire within the dwelling house.
		(3) A dwelling house shall be so designed and constructed that the unseen spread of fire and smoke within concealed spaces in its structure or fabric is inhibited where necessary. (4) For the purposes of sub-paragraph 2(a), a dwelling house in a terrace and a semi-detached dwelling house are each to be treated as being a separate building.
External fire spread.	B9	The external walls and roof of a dwelling house shall be so designed and constructed that they afford adequate resistance to the spread of fire to and from neighbouring buildings.
Access and facilities for the fire service.	B10	A dwelling house shall be so designed and constructed that there is adequate provision for access for fire appliances and such other facilities as may be reasonably required to assist the fire service in the protection of life and property.
Definitions for this Part.	B11	In this Part—“dwelling house” means a dwelling that is not a flat.”

Given under my Official Seal,

28 February 2017.

SIMON COVENEY,

Minister for Housing, Planning, Community and Local Government.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation).

These Regulations amend Part B (Fire Safety) of the Second Schedule to the Building Regulations 1997 ( S.I. No. 497 of 1997 ) in order to make provision for essential fire safety requirements for dwelling houses.

These amendments provide for new technical guidance in respect of:—

• enhanced requirements for the early detection and warning of fire;

• improved protection for the occupiers of dwelling houses from the risk of fire;

• new fire safety requirements for community dwelling houses;

• the provision of a specific Technical Guidance Document for dwelling houses;

• compliance with, and reference to, new European Standards;

• modified guidance to align with changes in standards and building practices;

• a general update of guidance and references.

The operative date of these Regulations is 1 July 2017.

Irish Statutory Instruments

S.I. No. 57/2017 - Building Regulations (Part B Amendment) Regulations 2017.

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