As it’s being phased in, the changes to Part F won’t apply to work subject to a building notice, a full plans application or an initial notice submitted before 15th June 2022, as long as the work is started on site before 15th June 2023.
But as of 15th June, to abide by the new rules, building designs need to consider ventilation from the outset. Construction work is always checked by an approved building inspector at different stages of the works to ensure compliance.
There are some specific details about which type of buildings do and don’t need to comply with the new regulations, which we’ve summarised below.
If you already know whether or not your building is included, skip this part and head to the sections about what Part F means for you and how Metrikus can help.
For the purposes of Part F, historic and traditional buildings include:
These buildings should comply with the ventilation standards where possible, but there are some exceptions. For example, if the works would:
A new extension to a historic or traditional building should comply with Part F unless its external appearance or character needs to be matched to the original building.
Minor works need to comply with the relevant requirements of the Building Regulations, but the building control body doesn’t need to be notified.
For mechanical ventilation and air conditioning systems, minor works include:
For emergency repairs, if you can’t notify the building control body in advance, the building control body should be notified as soon as possible.
A unit that contains living accommodation and commercial space – like a workshop or office – is considered a dwelling if the commercial part can be reverted to domestic use.
This is the case if all of the following apply:
A large non-domestic building that contains a small flat for a manager is not treated as a dwelling. But a dwelling that contains a room used as an office or utility space is still treated as a dwelling.
If a dwelling is constructed as part of a larger building that contains other types of accommodation – otherwise known as a mixed-use development – you need to refer to the two volumes of Part F as follows.
Right, now we’ve spent enough time dwelling on which buildings are covered by Part F (pardon the pun), let’s go into which rooms it applies to.
In new buildings, CO2 needs to be monitored in the following types of room:
It doesn’t include areas like:
The regulations also don’t apply to small spaces up to 50m2/125m3, or large spaces over 320m2/800m3.