Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2000

PART R Access and facilities for disabled people

Application and interpretation

R1—(1) Subject to paragraphs (2) and (3) this Part shall apply to any building or part of a building.

(2) This Part shall not apply to—

(a) any garage or outbuilding associated with a dwelling;

(b) any part of a building which is used solely to enable the building or any service or fitting in the building to be inspected, maintained or repaired; and

(c) the alteration or extension of an existing dwelling to which this Part did not apply when the dwelling was erected other than where the alteration or extension affects a facility suitable for use by disabled people, in the existing building.

(3) The requirements of regulation R4 shall not apply to a dwelling.

(4) In this Part—

disabled people means people who have—

(a)

an impairment which limits their ability to walk or which requires them to use a wheelchair for mobility; or

(b)

impaired hearing or sight;

dwelling means a house, flat, maisonette and any purpose built student living accommodation which is comprised of self-contained units of accommodation;

entrance storey in a dwelling means the storey which contains the principal entrance for the dwelling;

principal entrance in relation to a dwelling means the entrance a visitor (not familiar with the dwelling) will normally expect to use to enter it;

principal storey in a dwelling means the storey nearest to the entrance storey which contains a habitable room, or if there are two such storeys equally near, either such storey;

sanitary accommodation has the meaning assigned to it by regulation P1; and

sanitary convenience means a water closet and a wash-hand basin.

Access and use

R2  Reasonable provision shall be made for disabled people to have access to and within and to use any building or part of a building to which this Part applies:

Provided that in a dwelling this requirement shall be limited to the entrance storey or, where that storey contains no habitable room, to the principal storey.

Sanitary accommodation and sanitary conveniences

R3—(1) If sanitary accommodation is provided in a building, other than in a dwelling or in a shop which has a floor area of less than 50 m², that accommodation shall include reasonable provision for disabled people.

(2) In a dwelling a sanitary convenience shall be provided—

(a) in the entrance storey; or

(b) where the entrance storey contains no habitable rooms – in the principal storey.

Audience or spectator seating

R4  If a building contains audience or spectator seating, reasonable provision shall be made to accommodate disabled people.

Deemed-to-satisfy provisions for regulations R2, R3 and R4

R5—(1) The requirements of regulation R2 shall be deemed to be satisfied, in the case of a building specified in column (2) of Table R opposite the reference to that regulation, if provision for access to and use of the building complies with the relevant provisions of the publications specified opposite thereto in column (3), as amended by the publications specified opposite thereto in column (4).

(2) The requirements of regulation R3 shall be deemed to be satisfied, in the case of a building specified in column (2) of Table R opposite the reference to that regulation, if the sanitary accommodation and sanitary conveniences provided in the building comply with the relevant provisions of the publications specified opposite thereto in column (3), as amended by the publications specified opposite thereto in column (4).

(3) The requirements of regulation R4 shall be deemed to be satisfied, in the case of a building specified in column (2) of Table R opposite the reference to that regulation, if the audience or spectator seating provided in the building comply with the relevant provisions of the publications specified opposite thereto in column (3), as amended by the publications specified opposite thereto in column (4).