Converting 3 flats into a single family home

[MelanieC]

Hello, I am struggling to find an answer to the situation I am facing.  I am converting a Victorian house, which was converted into 3 flats in 2010 back into a single family house.  My budget is tight and I am hearing conflicting views about the applicability of the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022.  These state that the Regulation applies to a building with two ore more residential units.  Given that the house is currently uninhabitable due to building work and will be habitable as a single family home after the renovation, I am struggling to see how the Regulations apply.  My building control person (privately appointed) is insisting they do apply and that I have to install very expensive water misters throughout the property.  

Please could someone point me in the right direction?

 

Many thanks

Natacha

[AnthonyB]

Find a new BCO! How many floors is it and what's the planned layout - these are the usual triggers for sprinklers in a single dwelling under Building Regulations.

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/639ae7e98fa8f5069839c7d7/Approved_Document_B__fire_safety__volume_1_-_Dwellings__2019_edition_incorporating_2020_and_2022_amendments.pdf

The Fire Safety (England) Regulations are outside their jurisdiction, won't apply once a single dwelling and even whilst still flats have limited practical scope whist vacant and certainly have nothing to do with requiring sprinklers/mist
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/fire-safety-england-regulations-2022

[MelanieC]

Many thanks, Anthony.  This is very helpful.  

We are being told that due to the property having four floors we have to have a sprinkler system or an alternative escape route other than the stairs for the 4th floor.  Have you come across this situation?  The building control person is telling us that this is due to section 2.5b, diagram 2.1, image d.

Does this section only apply to dwelling houses, which consist of 2 or more residences as opposed to a SINGLE FAMILY dwelling house?

[Daniel Bennett]

On 22/11/2024 at 14:03, MelanieC said:

Does this section only apply to dwelling houses, which consist of 2 or more residences as opposed to a SINGLE FAMILY dwelling house?

According to the definitions in Approved Document B, a "dwelling" is a single residential unit for a single person, single family, or up to 6 non-family persons living together, while a "dwellinghouse" is specifically where the entire premises is a single "dwelling". If there were flats, then neither the individual flats nor the overall building would be considered a "dwellinghouse".

On 22/11/2024 at 14:03, MelanieC said:

We are being told that due to the property having four floors we have to have a sprinkler system or an alternative escape route other than the stairs for the 4th floor.  Have you come across this situation?  The building control person is telling us that this is due to section 2.5b, diagram 2.1, image d.

That advice does seem to be in-line with the guidance in Approved Document B; though while the number of storeys is important, so is their height above ground level. The diagram in question shows a 4-storey property (excluding loft if unoccupied) with two storeys beginning within 4.5m of ground level, and the fourth storey beginning above 7.5m:

• The third storey being above 4.5m means paragraph 2.5 applies, so you should have either a protected stairway (a) or an alternative escape route via a protected top storey (b).
• Having multiple storeys above 4.5m means paragraph 2.6 also applies, so all storeys above 7.5m should have access to an alternative escape route (a) or a sprinkler system in accordance with BS 9251 (b).

There are more details and caveats to these paragraphs which I strongly advise you to familiarise yourself with. You can click on green words in the PDF to jump down to their definition. For example, a protected stairway is defined as: "A stair that leads to a final exit to a place of safety and that is adequately enclosed with fire resisting construction. Included in the definition is any exit passageway between the foot of the stair and the final exit."

[AnthonyB]

On 22/11/2024 at 14:03, MelanieC said:

Many thanks, Anthony.  This is very helpful.  

We are being told that due to the property having four floors we have to have a sprinkler system or an alternative escape route other than the stairs for the 4th floor.  Have you come across this situation?  The building control person is telling us that this is due to section 2.5b, diagram 2.1, image d.

Does this section only apply to dwelling houses, which consist of 2 or more residences as opposed to a SINGLE FAMILY dwelling house?

Ah - four floors, that makes a difference, unfortunately they are correct.

[MelanieC]

Many thanks @AnthonyB and @Daniel Bennett.  You have been really helpful.