The Building (Amendment) Regulations 2004

Citation and commencement

1.—(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Building (Amendment) Regulations 2004.

(2) This regulation, and regulation 2(1), (2), (4) and (5) shall come into force on 1st July 2004, and the remainder of these Regulations on 1st December 2004.

Amendment of the Building Regulations 2000

2.—(1) The Building Regulations 2000(1) (“the principal Regulations”) are amended as follows.

(2) In regulation 2 (interpretation), in paragraph (1), for the definition of “room for residential purposes” substitute—

““room for residential purposes” means a room, or a suite of rooms, which is not a dwelling-house or a flat and which is used by one or more persons to live and sleep and includes a room in a hostel, an hotel, a boarding house, a hall of residence or a residential home, whether or not the room is separated from or arranged in a cluster group with other rooms, but does not include a room in a hospital, or other similar establishment, used for patient accommodation and, for the purposes of this definition, a “cluster” is a group of rooms for residential purposes which is—

(a)

separated from the rest of the building in which it is situated by a door which is designed to be locked; and

(b)

not designed to be occupied by a single household;”.

(3) In regulation 6 (requirements relating to material change of use) in paragraph (1)—

(a) in sub-paragraph (a), after “B5 (access and facilities for the fire service)”, add “C2(c) (interstitial and surface condensation)”;

(b) in the same sub-paragraph, after “F1”, delete the words “and F2”;

(c) after sub-paragraph (c) insert—

“(cc) in the case of a material change of use described in regulation 5(a),(b),(c),(d), (g),(h),(i) or, where the material change provides new residential accommodation,(f), C1(2) resistance to contaminants);”.

(d) in sub-paragraph (d), for the words “C4 (resistance to weather and ground moisture)”, substitute “C2 (resistance to moisture)”.

(4) In regulation 20A (sound insulation testing) at the beginning of paragraph (1) insert “Subject to paragraph (4) below,”,

(5) After regulation 20A(3) insert—

“(4) Where building work consists of the erection of a dwelling-house or a building containing flats, this regulation does not apply to any part of the building in relation to which the person carrying out the building work notifies the local authority, not later than the date on which he gives notice of commencement of the work under regulation 15(1), that, for the purpose of achieving compliance of the work with paragraph E1 of Schedule 1, he is using one or more design details approved by Robust Details Limited(2), provided that—

(a) the notification specifies —

(i) the part or parts of the building in respect of which he is using the design detail;

(ii) the design detail concerned; and

(iii) the unique number issued by Robust Details Limited in respect of the specified use of that design detail; and

(b) the building work carried out in respect of the part or parts of the building identified in the notification is in accordance with the design detail specified in the notification.”,

(6) In Schedule 1, omit the whole paragraph in the second column in the entry for paragraph A3 (disproportionate collapse).

(7) For Part C of that Schedule, substitute the Part set out in the Schedule to these Regulations.

(8) In Part F of that Schedule, omit the whole of paragraph F2 (condensation in roofs).

Transitional provisions

3.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), where before 1st December 2004 building work is commenced in accordance with—

(a) a building notice given to, or full plans deposited with, a local authority under regulation 12(2) of the principal Regulations and a notice given to the local authority under regulation 15(1) of the principal Regulations; or

(b) an initial notice or an amendment notice given in accordance with section 47(1) or 51A(2)(3) respectively of the Building Act 1984 (“the Act”),the principal Regulations shall continue to apply to that building work as if the amendments made by regulation 2(3) and (6) to (8) had not been made.

(2) Where an initial notice given before 1st December 2004 is varied by an amendment notice given on or after that date, the principal Regulations shall continue to apply as if the amendments made by regulation 2(3) and (6) to (8) had not been made, to so much of the building work as could have been carried out under that initial notice if the amendment notice had not been given.

(3) Where before 1st December 2004 full plans of building work have been deposited with a local authority in accordance with regulation 12(2) of the principal Regulations and the local authority has, before that date—

(a) given notice under section 16(6) of the Act that they have passed those plans without conditions; or

(b) signified in writing to the person by whom or on whose behalf the plans were deposited that any condition subject to which they passed the plans has been fully met,

the principal Regulations shall continue to apply to that building work as if the amendments made by regulation 2(3) and (6) to (8) had not been made, whether or not the building work departs from those plans.

(4) Where plans of work are the subject of a plans certificate, or a plans certificate combined with an initial notice, given to the local authority before 1st December 2004 in accordance with section 50 of the Act, and accepted by the local authority either before, on or after that date, the principal Regulations shall continue to apply to that building work as if the amendments made by regulation 2(3) and (6) to (8) had not been made, whether or not the building work departs from those plans.

Signed by authority of the First Secretary of State

Phil Hope

Parliamentary Under Secretary of State,

Office of the Deputy Prime Minister

28th May 2004