Building Regulations Part B 2024

The Building Regulations (Part B Amendment) Regulations 2024 represent the most comprehensive update to fire safety requirements for non domestic buildings in Ireland in over a decade. The regulations were signed on 26 March 2024 by the then Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and came into effect on 1 May 2025, subject to transitional arrangements.

For owners, designers, and operators of non dwelling buildings, this matters. Part B is the section of the Building Regulations dealing with fire safety, and an updated Technical Guidance Document B 2024, Volume 1: Buildings other than Dwelling Houses, accompanies the new regulations.

The 2024 review of Part B was substantial. It examined external fire spread, internal fire resistance, cladding systems, sprinklers, and lessons from international incidents including the Grenfell Tower fire. The resulting guidance updates the expectations placed on designers and contractors across multiple areas:

• External wall and façade fire performance, particularly for buildings above 18 metres in height
• Internal fire compartmentation and resistance
• Access provisions for the fire service
• Early warning, escape routes, and prevention of fire spread

These are matters for fire engineers, architects, and competent fire safety designers, but the implications run all the way down to the active fire safety systems that ADS Group and similar contractors install and maintain.

One of the most practically significant additions for facility managers and building owners is the new Section B12, titled "Provision of Information." Under B12, sufficient information on the active fire safety systems installed in a building must be provided to the building owner so that the building can be operated and maintained to protect occupant safety.

In practice, B12 is intended to ensure that when a project completes, the owner is not left holding a building with fire detection and alarm systems, emergency lighting, suppression systems, compartmentation, and passive fire protection measures they do not fully understand. The handover package should be sufficient to allow proper ongoing maintenance and management of those systems through the building's life cycle.

For ADS Group's clients, this aligns with how good handover documentation should already look: clear records of what was installed, where, to what standard, and how it is to be maintained. B12 simply makes that expectation a regulatory one.

The 2024 Part B Regulations applied from 1 May 2025, but transitional provisions allow the previous (2006) Technical Guidance Document to be used in defined circumstances, including projects whose planning application was submitted before specified deadlines. Whether a project falls under the old or new guidance is a matter for the design team and, where relevant, the Building Control Authority.

If you commissioned, refurbished, or extended a non domestic building in the last twenty four months, it is worth checking:

• Whether your fire safety design followed TGD B 2024 or the 2006 document
• Whether you received a B12 compliant information pack at handover for any active fire safety systems
• Whether your current maintenance contracts reflect the systems actually installed

If the answers are unclear, a competent fire safety professional should review the position before any further alteration work begins.

ADS Group works alongside design teams, main contractors, and building owners to make sure the active fire safety systems we install are documented, commissioned, and handed over in a way that supports B12 compliance. We do not act as fire engineers or design certifiers, and we will always recommend that overall fire strategy is signed off by a competent fire safety professional, but we do make sure our part of the picture is clear, traceable, and maintainable.