Changes To Building Regulations Confirmed

The legislation to amend Parts L, F and J of the building regulations has been laid before Parliament today.  The changes will take effect from October 2010. The revised Approved Documents and Compliance Guides will be made available shortly (an unofficial estimate is in about two weeks together with a summary of responses of last year’s consultation exercises. The changes to Part L will require a 25 per cent improvement above current standards for every new home. An aggregate approach for improvement of new non-domestic buildings will deliver an improvement of 25 per cent overall, rather than for each individual building. This is because there is greater variety among non-domestic buildings and some will be much easier than others to make efficient. The changes to Part L will increase the minimum levels of energy efficiency for building fabric and services, so that CO2 targets cannot be achieved through renewables alone. This reflects the principle of reducing overall demand for energy. The measures will also apply to work carried out on existing buildings, including extensions and conversions, fabric renovations, replacement windows and boilers. Part F has been revised with new requirements and guidance for installation and commissioning of ventilation systems. This will help to maintain indoor air quality and avoid adverse health effects that could otherwise have occurred due to the greater tendency to more airtight buildings arising from the Part L changes. Part J, which covers combustion appliances and fuel storage systems, has also been revised to ensure that they continue to function safely in more airtight homes. The changes include the removal of technical disincentives to the wider use of biomass heating systems.