# The Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012, Regulation 32: Application and interpretation


(1) Regulations 33 and 35(3) shall not apply to a prison within the meaning of the Prisons Act (Northern Ireland) 1953 or any other place of lawful detention.
(2) Regulation 37B applies when a building is—
(a) erected;
(b) formed by a material change of use; or
(c) altered and/or extended, only where regulation 37B has been applied to the building.
(3) In this Part—
“Above ground level” has the meaning assigned to it by regulation 23(4)(b) in Part B;
“Dwelling” means a self-contained unit of residential accommodation occupied (whether or not as a sole or main residence)—
(a)by a single person or by people living together as a family; or
(b)by not more than 6 people living together as a single household, including a household where care is provided for residents;
“Dwellinghouse” means a dwelling on one or more storeys which is detached or forms part of a building from all other parts of which it is divided only vertically and does not include a flat;
“Fire safety duties” has the meaning given by Article 52 of the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 or duties associated with the fire safety measures in a building containing one or more flats;
“Fire safety information” means as-built information relating to the design and construction of a building or extension, and the services, fittings and equipment provided in or in connection with a building or extension which will assist the person with fire safety duties to operate and maintain the building or extension with reasonable safety;
“Flat” has the meaning assigned to it by regulation 2 in Part A;
“Internal linings” means the materials lining any partition, wall, ceiling or other internal structure;
“Means of escape” means structural means whereby, in the event of a fire, a safe route or routes is or are provided for people to travel from any point in a building to a place of safety;
“Place of safety” means a place, outside the building, in which people are in no danger from fire within the building;
“Purpose built student accommodation” means housing built specifically for students to live in;
“Relevant premises” has the meaning given by Article 50 of the Fire and Rescue Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006; and
“Residential care premises” includes residential care homes, nursing homes, children’s homes and residential family centres, each having the same meaning as in the Health & Personal Social Services (Quality, Improvement & Regulation) (Northern Ireland) Order 2003.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisr/2012/192/regulation/32 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/building-regulations-northern-ireland-2012/regulation-32
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.