The Building (Amendment) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006

Regulation 10

SCHEDULE 3 Part to be substituted for Part R (Access and facilities for disabled people) of the principal Regulations

Part R Access to and use of buildings

Application and interpretation

R1—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) this Part shall apply to any building or part of a building.

(2) This Part shall not apply to—

(a) any garage or outbuilding associated with a dwelling;

(b) any part of a building which is used solely to enable the building or any service or fitting in the building to be inspected, maintained or repaired; and

(c) the alteration or extension of an existing dwelling to which this Part did not apply when the dwelling was erected other than where the alteration or extension affects a facility suitable for use by people with an impairment of mobility, hearing or sight, in the existing building.

(3) The requirements of regulation R3 shall not apply to—

(a) a dwelling; and

(b) any building that is being extended where reasonable provision for access to the extension is provided through the building being extended.

(4) The requirements of regulation R4 shall not apply to—

(a) a dwelling; and

(b) an extension to a building where there is provision for suitable sanitary accommodation in the building being extended and all users of the extension can gain access to and use that sanitary accommodation.

(5) In this Part—

• DWELLING means a house, flat or maisonette;

• ENTRANCE STOREY in a dwelling means the storey which contains the principal entrance for the dwelling;

• INDEPENDENT ACCESS to a part of or extension to a building means a route of access to that part or extension which does not require the user to pass through any other part of the building;

• PRINCIPAL ENTRANCE in relation to a dwelling means the entrance a visitor (not familiar with the dwelling) will normally expect to use to enter it;

• PRINCIPAL STOREY in a dwelling means the storey nearest to the entrance storey which contains a habitable room, or if there are two such storeys equally near, either such storey;

• SANITARY ACCOMMODATION has the meaning assigned to it by regulation P1; and

• SANITARY CONVENIENCE means a water closet and wash-hand basin.

Access and use

R2  Reasonable provision shall be made for people to have access to, into, within and to use a building and its facilities:

Provided that in a dwelling this requirement shall be limited to the entrance storey or, where that storey contains no habitable room, to the principal storey.

Access to extensions

R3  Reasonable provision shall be made for independent access to an extension to a building.

Sanitary accommodation in extensions

R4  Where sanitary accommodation is provided in a building, reasonable provision shall be made for the provision of suitable sanitary accommodation in any extension to the building.

Sanitary conveniences in dwellings

R5  In a dwelling a sanitary convenience shall be provided—

(a) in the entrance storey; or

(b) where the entrance storey contains no habitable rooms — in the principal storey.

Deemed-to-satisfy provisions for regulations R2, R3, R4 and R5

R6—(1) The requirements of regulation R2 shall be deemed to be satisfied, in the case of a building specified in column (2) of Table R opposite the reference to that regulation, if provision for access to and use of the building complies with the relevant provisions of the publications specified opposite thereto in column (3), as amended by the publications specified opposite thereto in column (4).

(2) The requirements of regulation R3 shall be deemed to be satisfied, in the case of a building specified in column (2) of Table R opposite the reference to that regulation, if provision for access to an extension to the building complies with the relevant provisions of the publications specified opposite thereto in column (4).

(3) The requirements of regulation R4 shall be deemed to be satisfied, in the case of a building specified in column (2) of Table R opposite the reference to that regulation, if the sanitary accommodation provided in an extension to the building complies with the relevant provisions of the publications specified opposite thereto in column (4).

(4) The requirements of regulation R5 shall be deemed to be satisfied, in the case of a building specified in column (2) of Table R opposite the reference to that regulation, if the sanitary conveniences provided in the building comply with the relevant provisions of the publications specified opposite thereto in column (3), as amended by the publications specified opposite thereto in column (4).