Fire Regulation Changes 2

Now in force... and what's round the corner

Here’s a brief update six months on from a previous post. There are FOUR parts to this note:

1. Fire Safety Regulations

2. Building Regulations (relating to fire, aka ‘cladding ban’)

3. Approved Document B

4. Building Safety Act (previously known as ‘Building Safety Bill’)

I’m not a fire engineer!! Use this as a prompt to do your own research.

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1. Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 came into force on 23 January 2023. They are an important step towards implementing the recommendations of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 1 Report and make it a requirement for responsible persons of high-rise residential buildings to provide information on their building(s) to their local fire and rescue service. A high-rise residential building is defined as a building containing two or more sets of domestic premises and is at least 18 metres tall or has at least seven storeys.

A big part of this is also about providing fire safety instructions to residents, for example how to report a fire, what a resident must do once a fire has occurred based on the evacuation strategy for the building and information relating to the importance of fire doors.

It’s really important for property owners to ensure that the responsible person is aware of the above requirements and is implementing an action plan accordingly. Take a look at the factsheet for help.

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2. The Buildings etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2022

The Buildings etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2022 are what is widely referred to as ‘the cladding ban’ and came into force on 1st December 2022.

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3. Approved Document B (AD B)

Approved Document B (Fire Safety) has been updated and came into force on 1st December 2022, to align with the update to Building Regulations (see 2 above).

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4. Building Safety Act

The Building Safety Act (think “golden thread” and “gateways 1, 2 and 3”) overhauls existing regulations. See my previous summary here.

Following Royal Assent almost a year ago on 28th April 2022, a number of preparatory changes have already taken effect. During 2023, it is expected the bulk of the new provisions in the Act will come into force including Gateways 2 and 3, Golden Thread information and new Committees within the Building Safety Regulator. Plus there could be around 30 pieces of secondary legislation in the coming years to fully implement the requirements of the Act!