Building Control (Amendment) Regulations, 2009

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 351/2009
• Year: 2009

S.I. No. 351 of 2009

BUILDING CONTROL (AMENDMENT) REGULATIONS 2009

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 11th September, 2009.

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, in exercise of the powers conferred on him by section 6 of the Building Control Act 1990 (No. 3 of 1990) (as amended by section 5 of the Building Control Act 2007 (No. 21 of 2007), section 7 of the Building Control Act 1990 (as amended by section 6 of the Building Control Act 2007 (No. 21 of 2007)) and section 18 of the Building Control Act 1990 (No. 3 of 1990) (as adapted by the Environment and Local Government (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2003 ( S.I. No. 233 of 2003 )) hereby makes the following Regulations—

Citation.

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2009.

(2) These Regulations, the Building Control Regulations 1997 ( S.I. No. 496 of 1997 ), the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2000 ( S.I. No. 10 of 2000 ), the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2004 ( S.I. No. 85 of 2004 ) may be construed as one and cited together as the Building Control Regulations 1997 to 2009.

Commencement.

2. These Regulations shall come into effect on 1 October 2009 except for the provisions of Article 8 which shall come into effect on 1 January 2010.

Application.

3. Article 3 of the Principal Regulations is amended by inserting the following after paragraph (4):—

“(5) (a) Parts IIIA and Parts IIIB, subject to the provisions of those Parts, apply to works or a building as regards which a material change of use takes place, where the works commence or the material change of use takes place on or after the date those Parts come into effect.

(b) Subparagraph (a) does not apply to Article 20C.”.

Interpretation.

4. (1) In these Regulations, any reference to a Schedule, Part or Article, which is not otherwise identified is a reference to a Schedule, Part or Article of these Regulations.

(2) In these Regulations, save where the context otherwise states:

“the Principal Regulations” means the Building Control Regulations, 1997 ( S.I. No. 496 of 1997 ) as amended by the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2000 ( S.I. No. 10 of 2000 ) and the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations 2004 ( S.I. No. 85 of 2004 );

“the Act” means the Building Control Act 1990 (No. 3 of 1990) as amended by the Building Control Act 2007 (No. 21 of 2007);

“the Minister” means the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government.

(3) Article 5 of the Principal Regulations is amended by the substitution of the following for paragraph (4):

“(4) In these Regulations, save where the context otherwise requires—

“the Act” means the Building Control Act 1990 (No. 3 of 1990) as amended by the Building Control Act 2007 (No. 21 of 2007);

“agriculture” includes horticulture, fruit growing, seed growing, dairy farming, the breeding and keeping of livestock (including any creature kept for the production of food, wool, skins or fur, or for the purpose of its use in the farming of land), the use of land as grazing land, meadow land, osier land, market gardens and nursery grounds, the use of land for turbary, and the use of land for woodlands where that use is ancillary to the farming of land for other agricultural purposes;

“appeal” means an appeal to the Board under section 7(1)(a), 7(1)(b), 7(1)(d) or 7(1)(e) of the Act;

“application” means—

(a) an application under section 4 of the Act for a dispensation from, or a relaxation of, a requirement of Building Regulations,

(b) an application for a fire safety certificate,

(c) an application for a revised fire safety certificate,

(d) an application for a regularisation certificate,

(e) an application for a disability access certificate, or

(f) an application for a revised disability access certificate.

“the Board” means An Bord Pleanala;

“building control authority” means a building control authority as defined in section 2 of the Act;

“Building Control Regulations, 1991 and 1994” means the Building Control Regulations, 1991 ( S.I. No. 305 of 1991 ) as amended by the Building Control (Amendment) Regulations, 1994 ( S.I. No. 153 of 1994 );

“Building Regulations” means the Building Regulations, 1997;

“commencement notice” means a notice referred to in section 6(2)(k) of the Act;

“day centre” means a building used for the provision of treatment or care to persons where such persons do not stay overnight and includes a day care centre, a pre-school, a creche, and a day nursery;

“disability access certificate” means a certificate referred to in section 6 (2)(a)(ix) of the Act;

“dispensation or relaxation” means a dispensation or a relaxation, under section 4 of the Act, from or of, as the case may be, any requirement of regulations made under section 3 of the Act;

“domestic garage” means a building ancillary to a dwelling which is used, or suitable for use, for the storage of a motor vehicle or vehicles and is not used for the purposes of any trade or business;

“drainage system” in relation to a building, means the system of pipes and drains used for the drainage of the building, including all other fittings, appliances and equipment so used but excluding subsoil water drains;

“an enforcement notice” means a notice served under section 8 of the Act;

“fire safety certificate” includes a certificate referred to in section 6(2)(a)(ii) of the Act;

“flat” means separate and self-contained premises constructed or adapted for residential use and forming part of a building from some other part of which it is divided horizontally;

“guest building” means a building (other than a hotel or hostel) providing overnight guest accommodation for reward, and includes a guesthouse;

“industrial building” includes a factory or other premises used for manufacturing, altering, repairing, cleaning, washing, breaking-up, adapting or processing any article, generating power or slaughtering livestock;

“institutional building” includes a hospital, nursing home, home for old people or for children, school or other similar establishment used as living accommodation or for the treatment, care or maintenance of persons suffering from illness or mental or physical disability or handicap, where such persons sleep on the premises;

“material alteration” means an alteration (other than a repair or renewal), where the work, or any part of the work, carried out by itself would be subject to a requirement of Part A or B of the Second Schedule to the Building Regulations;

“material change of use” means—

(a) a change of use, deemed by section 3(3) of the Act to be a material change of use, takes place, or

(b) a building which was not being used as—

(i) a day centre, becomes so used, or

(ii) a hotel, hostel or guest building, becomes so used, or

(iii) an industrial building, becomes so used, or

(iv) an institutional building, becomes so used, or

(v) an office (which is not ancillary to the primary use of the building), becomes so used, or

(vi) a place of assembly, becomes so used, or

(vii) a shop (which is not ancillary to the primary use of the building), becomes so used, or

(viii) a shopping centre, becomes so used;

“minor works” means works consisting of the installation, alteration or removal of a fixture or fitting, or works of a decorative nature;

“office” includes premises used for the purpose of administrative or clerical work (including writing, book keeping, sorting papers, filing, typing, duplicating, machine calculating, drawing and the editorial preparation of matter for publication, handling money (including banking and building society work) or telephone system operation);

“party” means a party to an appeal, namely—

(a) the appellant,

(b) the building control authority against whose decision an appeal is made, and “parties” shall be construed accordingly;

“place of assembly” includes—

(a) a theatre, public library, hall or other building of public resort used for social or recreational purposes,

(b) a non-residential school or other educational establishment,

(c) a place of public worship,

(d) a public house, restaurant or similar premises used for the sale to members of the public of food or drink for consumption on the premises,

but no building shall be treated as a place of assembly solely because it is a building to which members of the public are occasionally admitted;

“register” means a register pursuant to article 21 of these Regulations;

“regularisation certificate” means a certificate referred to in section 6(2)(a)(vii) of the Act;

“repair or renewal” means works of maintenance or restoration of a routine nature relating to—

(a) the keeping of a building in good condition or working order, or

(b) the return of the fabric of a building to its original condition;

“revised disability access certificate” means a certificate referred to in section 6(2)(a)(x) of the Act;

“revised fire safety certificate” means a certificate referred to in section 6(2)(a)(vi) and section 6(2)(a)(x) of the Act;

“shop” includes a building used for retail or wholesale trade or business (including retail sales by auction, self-selection and over-the-counter wholesale trading, the business of lending books or periodicals for gain and the business of a barber or hairdresser) and premises to which the public is invited to deliver or to collect goods in connection with their hire, repair or other treatment, or where they themselves may carry out such repairs or other treatments;

“shopping centre” includes a building which comprises a number of individually occupied premises to which common access is provided principally for the benefit of shoppers;

“State authority” means any authority being—

(a) a Minister of the Government, or

(b) the Commissioners of Public Works in...