These changes were announced earlier this year as part of the Government’s on-going response to the Grenfell Tower fire. Updates to the Building Regulations will obviously be of significance to social housing providers planning the construction of new high-risk residential buildings (“HRRBs”) or carrying out material alterations to existing HRRB stock.
The key changes include:
It should be noted these amendments apply in England only, and will apply to all building works for residential or mixed-use buildings where:
These changes will therefore apply to both the construction of new residential buildings of 11m or higher and also to existing buildings where works which constitute material alterations are being undertaken.
The updates require that sprinkler systems are installed to individual dwellings, but not to corridors or stairs, providing that those common areas are “fire sterile”. There are also clear requirements for the wording, location, visibility, size, font, colour and mounting (to name but a few) for wayfinding signage, with similar requirements also being established for flat indicator signs.
The adoption of an 11m threshold for sprinkler installation is notable because current definitions of HRRBs generally assume an 18m height. Given that the new regulatory regime envisaged by the Building Safety Bill (the “Bill”) will apply to the owners of HRRBs, the updates to the Building Regulations do raise questions as to whether a lower threshold height of 11m may be adopted for HRRBs under the Bill. The potential for HRRBs to encompass a greater number of buildings will be of real interest and significance to social housing providers.
Our fire safety experts are experienced in advising social housing providers on building safety issues. We also provide bespoke training programmes for registered social housing providers regarding preparing for the Building Safety Bill becoming law.
If you have any questions in relation to this ebriefing, please contact Andrew Lancaster. If you would like to find out more about our bespoke training programmes, please contact Andrew Lancaster or Lorna Kenyon.
This is the seventh in a series of ebriefings on this topic. The full list can be found below:
Anthony Collins Solicitors are presenting a series of podcasts with employees to raise awareness about disabilities around the firm.
Answering key questions about the details and practicalities of mandatory vaccinations in care home settings.
Anthony Collins Solicitors (ACS) has appointed a new partner to its market-leading social housing property team.
On 7 September 2021, the Regulator of Social Housing (RSH) published its annual consumer review.
From today (1 October 2021) there is yet more change on the possession front!
We are delighted to secure our position as a top-tier firm in five of our practice areas in the Legal 500 2022 edition.
This virtual event is an introduction to employee ownership.
Helen Tucker has been appointed a deputy district judge (DDJ) for the Midlands Circuit and will start sitting part-time in county courts from early 2022.
The monthly round-up from the Anthony Collins Solicitors charities team.
The CQC will conduct reviews on a monthly basis of all of the information they hold about services and will use these reviews to prioritise its activity.
To receive invitations to our events, as well as information and articles on legal issues and sector developments that are of interest to you, please sign up to Newsroom.