FIRE SAFETY CERTIFICATION - PART B

A Fire Safety Certificate (FSC) is a certificate issued by the Building Control Authority which states that the works or building to which the application relates will, if constructed in accordance with the plans and specifications submitted, comply with the requirements of Part B of the Second Schedule to the Building Regulations 1997 - 2011. A Fire Safety Certificate may be granted with or without conditions, or it may be refused.

With the exception of houses and certain agricultural buildings, a Fire Safety Certificate is generally required for all new buildings, including apartments and flats. A certificate is also required for material changes of use and certain alterations and extensions to buildings. If a person intends to commence works prior to a Fire Safety Certificate being granted, a 7 day notice must be lodged with the building control authority. Otherwise, a Fire Safety Certificate is required prior to commencement of the works.

If you build without a Fire Safety Certificate, you will leave yourself open to prosecution under building control legislation. If you decide at some later date to sell your premises the buyer's solicitor will, in all likelihood, look for a copy of the Fire Safety Certificate for the building. If you are unable to produce a Fire Safety Certificate you may find it difficult to sell. If you build or extend a public house /licensed premises without a Fire Safety Certificate you will even run into difficulties obtaining or renewing a license.

The statutory period allowed to a building control authority to process a Fire Safety Certificate application is two months, or within such extended period of time as may be agreed between the applicant and the Authority at any time. However, all the information must be made available to the authority, so that they have sufficient information to make a decision, before this statutory period starts. If the application documentation is incomplete, this will delay the decision on the application. Where it is considered that additional information or modifications are required to the application, the officer examining the application may request this from the applicant. A decision of the building control authority can be appealed to An Bórd Pleanála within one month of the decision. Details of the appeal process and fee are sent out with each decision.

The Building Control Regulations 1997 – 2009 has the effect of creating 3 separate certificates when dealing with fire safety:

Fire Safety Certificate - This is required where the applicant proposes a new building, a new building extension, or certain modifications to an existing building.

Revised Fire Safety Certificate - This is required to update the content of a previously granted fire safety certificate, due to proposed or required changes to the building design.

Regularisation Certificate - This is required where building works requiring a Fire Safety Certificate were commenced or completed post 1st June 1992 without an associated Fire Safety Certificate application. Any application for a Regularisation Certificate must be accompanied with a Statutory Declaration. This declaration states that the works comply with part B of the Building Regulations. It also requires the applicant to agree to an inspection by the Building Control Authority and to carry out any additional works required by the Authority.

7 Day Notice

Where it is intended to avail of the 7 Day Notice application (works which require a Fire Safety Certificate) the application must also be accompanied by the above in addition to a statutory declaration and a valid application for a Fire Safety Certificate.

the 7 Day Notice Notice must also be accompanied by the following:

such plans, calculations, specifications and particulars as are necessary to outline how the proposed works or building will comply with the requirements of the Second Schedule to the Building Regulations. This includes—
general arrangement drawings including plans, sections and elevations,
a schedule of such plans, calculations, specifications and particulars as are currently designed or to be prepared at a later date,
the completion of an online assessment, via the Building Control Management System, of the proposed approach to compliance with the requirements of the Second Schedule to the Building Regulations,
the preliminary Inspection Plan prepared by the Assigned Certifier, and

The following certificates and notices in the appropriate forms