New PART O Regulations

Overview of the New Building Regulations Part O

PART 1

This year the government is introducing a new approved document Part O.

Part O aims to protect the health and welfare of occupants of a building by reducing the occurrences of high indoor temperatures.

The regulations in Part O are intended to mitigate the future risks of global temperature increase and the increased frequency of extreme events such as heatwaves.

It is a response to buildings where occupants have experienced high temperatures that impact their quality of life.

It also addresses the changing methods of construction with lightweight structures or modern methods of construction becoming more popular.

Summary of Changes

The new Part O for overheating comes into effect on the 15th of June 2022.

It applies to new residential buildings such as dwellings, flats, student accommodation, HMO's and care homes but does not apply to hotels.

It includes the shared and communal areas within residential buildings such as the concierge's lounges and the dining rooms.

In mixed-use buildings, it does not include non-residential areas such as ground-floor retail or office floors.

Currently, residential buildings formed by a material chain of use are not within the scope of this approved document.

The Requirement

Reasonable provisions should be made to limit unwanted solar gains in summer and provide an adequate means to remove heat from the indoor environment.

The safety of any occupant and their reasonable enjoyment of the residents must be taken into account.

Mechanical cooling may only be used where it is not possible to remove sufficient heat from the indoor environment without it.

Of course, the approved guidance cannot guarantee the comfort of the building occupants as everyone has a different tolerance to comfortable temperatures.

These requirements are for the English Part O only the Welsh overheating regulations will be covered by their new approved document Part S which is stored currently in consultation.

Transitional Provisions

There are transitional provisions for the new Part O.

Under these, the new 2022 Part O will apply unless an initial notice has been submitted before the 15th of June 2022 and work starts on site before the 15th of June 2023.

For multiple dwellings or buildings on an application, work on each unit must have commenced for the transitional provisions to apply.

For example, on an application for 100 dwellings applications must be submitted and the work on all 100 units must be commenced. If just 10 dwellings have started the remaining 90 dwellings must comply with the new Part O.

Foundation to the blocks of flats is considered a start on site for all the units within the block.