Citation, extent, application and commencement

1. —(1) These Regulations may be cited as the Building etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2022.

(2) These Regulations extend to England and Wales.

(3) These Regulations do not apply to any building in Wales (and “ building ” has the meaning given in regulation 2(1) of the Building Regulations 2010( 2 )).

(4) These Regulations come into force on 1st December 2022.

Amendments to the Building Regulations 2010

2. —(1)The Building Regulations 2010 are amended in accordance with the following provisions.

(2) In regulation 2(6) (interpretation)—

(a) at the end of sub-paragraph (a)(iv) omit “and”; and

(b) for sub-paragraph (b) substitute—

“ (b) “ reaction to fire classification ” means BS EN 13501-1:2018 entitled “Fire classification of construction products and building elements. Classification using data from reaction to fire tests.” published by the British Standards Institution in 2019;

(c) “ relevant metal composite material ” means any panel or sheet, having a thickness of no more than 10mm, which is comprised of a number of layers—

(i) two or more of which are made of metal, alloy or metal compound; and

(ii) one or more of which is substantial and is made of a material having a gross calorific value of more than 35 MJ/kg when tested in accordance with BS EN ISO 1716:2018 entitled “Reaction to fire tests for products – Determination of the gross heat of combustion (calorific value)” published by the British Standards Institution in 2018;

and for these purposes a substantial layer is one which is at least 1mm thick or has a mass per unit area of at least 1kg per m²;

(d) “ specified attachment ” means—

(i) a balcony attached to an external wall;

(ii) a solar shading device (excluding a solar shading device attached to the wall at a height of no more than 4.5 metres above ground level); or

(iii) a solar panel attached to an external wall; and

(e) “ solar shading device ” means a device attached to the external surface of an external wall for reducing heat gain within a building by shading or deflecting sunlight. ”

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

(a) in paragraph (1)(c) for “fifteen” substitute “eleven” ;

(b) for paragraph (3) substitute—

“ (3) Subject to paragraph (4), where there is a material change of use described in regulation 5(k), such work, if any, shall be carried out as is necessary to ensure that any external wall, or specified attachment, of the building only contains materials of European Classification A2-s1, d0 or A1 (classified in accordance with the reaction to fire classification). ”

(4) In regulation 7 (materials and workmanship)—

(a) after paragraph (1) insert—

“ (1A) Building work shall be carried out so that relevant metal composite material does not become part of an external wall, or specified attachment, of any building. ” ;

(b) for paragraph (2) substitute—

“ (2) Subject to paragraph (3), building work shall be carried out so that materials which become part of an external wall, or specified attachment, of a relevant building are of European Classification A2-s1, d0 or A1 (classified in accordance with the reaction to fire classification). ” ;

(c) in paragraph (3)—

(i) after sub-paragraph (d) insert—

“ (da) fibre optic cables; ” ;

(ii) in sub-paragraph (e) after “ground level” insert “or up to 300mm above that level” ;

(iii) after sub-paragraph (h) insert—

“ (ha) components associated with a solar shading device excluding components whose primary function is to provide shade or deflect sunlight such as the awning curtain or slats; ”

(iv) at the end of sub-paragraph (i) omit “or”;

(v) at the end of sub-paragraph (j) insert—

“ ; or

(k) materials which form the top horizontal floor layer of a balcony which are of European Classification A1fl or A2fl-sl (classified in accordance with the reaction to fire classification) provided that the entire layer has an imperforate substrate under it. ” ;

(d) in paragraph (4)(a)(iii) omit “(excluding any room in a hostel, hotel or boarding house)”.

Other amendments

3. —(1) After regulation 1(3) of the Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) Regulations 2021( 3 ) insert—

“ (4) In this regulation and regulation 17, “building” and “building work” have the meanings given in regulation 2(1) of the Building Regulations 2010. ” .

(2) After regulation 1(4) of the Building Regulations etc. (Amendment) (England) (No. 2) Regulations 2021( 4 ) insert—

“ (5) In this regulation and regulation 4, “building” and “building work” have the meanings given in regulation 2(1) of the Building Regulations 2010. ” .

Transitional provisions

4. —(1) The amendments made by regulation 2 do not apply in any case where a building notice or initial notice has been given to, or full plans deposited with, a local authority before the day these Regulations come into force and either the building work to which it relates—

(a) has started before that day; or

(b) is started within the period of six months beginning on that day.

(2) In this regulation, “building notice”, “ building work ”, “ full plans ” and “ initial notice ” have the meanings given in the Building Regulations 2010.