Approved Document B (Fire safety) 2006 Edition: Volume 1: Dwellinghouses - Volume 2: Buildings other than dwellinghouses

On 18th December 2006, Communities and Local Government announced revisions to Part B (Fire safety) of the Building Regulations and the guidance in Approved Document B.

Approved Document B (Fire safety) – Volume 1: Dwellinghouses (2006 Edition)

Approved Document B (Fire safety) – Volume 2 - Buildings other than dwellinghouses (2006 Edition)

Statutory Instrument: Building and Approved Inspectors (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2006 - 3318

The changes come into force on 6 April 2007 and will affect future building work in England and Wales, such as the erection, extension or material alteration of a building, and how fire safety is designed into a building. They also include amendments to the guidance on domestic loft conversions, the use of door-closing devices in dwellings and the provision of sprinklers in tall blocks of flats.

For non-domestic buildings, the key changes include the introduction of a maximum unsprinklered compartment size for single storey warehouses, new guidance on residential care homes (including on the use of sprinklers) and a new requirement to ensure occupiers are made aware of their building's fire protection measures so as to assist with the preparation of fire risk assessments under the new Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order regime. 

A number of changes are specifically designed to make the guidance more accessible and easier to use (such as splitting the guidance into Approved Document B – Volume 1: Dwellinghouses and Approved Document B – Volume 2: Buildings other than Dwellinghouses), to provide further clarity and guidance, to introduce further design freedoms and flexibilities and/or to provide better regulation.

A Departmental Circular setting out the legislative changes and the main changes in Approved Document B has been published, together with the final Regulatory Impact Assessment for the fire safety elements of the package and a number of associated research reports.  A press release on the changes is available from the Communities and Local Government website. 

The proposed changes to Part B and AD B were the subject of a 4-month public consultation in 2005.  The proposals were subsequently reconsidered in the light of the all responses and the further evidence received.  The consultation document and the summary of responses to it are available on the Communities and Local Government website.