For anyone developing new homes, or converting an office, barn or shop into flats, there was a new requirement to design for from 1 October 2015. Part Q of the Building Regulations, introduced by the Building Regulations &c. (Amendment) Regulations 2015, came into force on that date. It requires reasonable provision to resist unauthorised entry into a new dwelling.
Which homes it covers
Part Q applies to all new dwellings, including those formed by a material change of use. That point catches some developers out. A conversion is treated in the same way as new build, so the doors and windows of each new flat must meet the standard even where the building itself is old.
The usual transitional rule applied. Work was outside the new requirement if a building regulations application was made before 1 October 2015 and the work started before 1 October 2016.
What it requires
- Entrance doors to each dwelling, including a flat entrance door off a communal area, must be robust enough to resist physical attack and fitted with suitable hardware. Approved Document Q points to doorsets tested to a recognised security standard.
- Easily accessible windows, typically at ground floor or basement level, or reachable from a flat roof or balcony, must meet a similar standard.
- Products should be specified and evidenced, not assumed. Building control will want to see the test evidence.
Conversions of older buildings
The hardest cases are conversions of historic buildings, where the existing doors and windows contribute to the character of the building or the conservation area. A new tested doorset may not suit a listed facade. These issues need to be raised with building control and the conservation officer at the design stage, so that a solution is agreed before anything is ordered. Leaving it until the joinery package is priced is expensive.
Practical steps
- Check whether your project falls within any transitional rule.
- Write the Part Q standard into the specification and the tender documents.
- Ask for test evidence with the product submittals.
- Agree any heritage compromises in writing before work starts.
Our Planning and Heritage and Contract Administration services bring these requirements into the design and the contract. See how we handled a maltings conversion and new build through to completion.