downstairs toilets

[tigwig]

Somebody I know is trying to do up a very small house (1-2 bedrooms). His wife has told me that Building Regs have said they need to have a downstairs loo so if anyone was disabled they would have access to it. Is this right? It is not something I have heard of before and as the house is going to be tiny there isn't really room for one

[MAGNUM1963]

you don't have to one at all.

[bednobs]

that isnt right, you dont have to have one

[Velvetee]

Yes that does sound a bit far fetched.

[scoob101]

This is not true.
The only thing I have heard of is if they are re wiring the property the light switches and power points have to be set at a certain height for disabled people.

[buildersmate]

I wonder on what basis any of the above persons are making their assertions? Do they not realise that the Building Control Officer's job is to know the regulations, so if he says a disabled loo is required, it is very likely to be true.
They could check the Building Regulations documents to check before scribbling an answer. Did they do that? - apparently not.
Part M of Building Control Regulations is about disabled access. What it says is that the requirement will be satisfied if a WC is provided in the entrance storey of a dwelling which contains a habitable room; or (where the dwelling is such that there are no habitable rooms in the entrance storey) if a WC is provided in either the entrance storey or the principal storey.
In short, it means one HAS to have a downstairs loo in a new 2 storey conventional dwelling. This regulations has been around since 2004.
Now you say this person is 'doing up' an older house. If the house is already a domestic dwelling and already has planning consent to be used as a dwelling, there should be no problem - you do not now need to add a new loo downstairs if there isn't one there already. But if the 'doing up' involves splitting an existing house into flats, or a change of use where (say) it was a retail shop before and it is being converted to a dwelling house, then yes it does.

[tigwig]

thanks for the answers. The 'house' at the moment is apparently like a big shed and needs complete conversion so I am guessing that it will need a downstairs loo then? They are only planning to have it as a very small 1-2 bedroom house so this will probably make things even more difficult. I am involved with this because my hubby is supposed to be the bricklayer they are taking on to do alot of the work!! I didn't know if they were making excuses to delay it or not especially with the current housing market.

[bednobs]

sorry buildersmate i feel well told off now!
i was basing my answer on the fact that we have just done up our 2 bedroomed house both upstairs and downstairs, and i was desperate to fit a downstairs loo in but couln't, and building regs didnt make us

[scoob101]

Sorry buildersmate but the question asked was that they were doing up a 1-2 bedroom house, not building from scratch and as so I dont think that there is anything in building regs that says they have to provide a downstairs loo.
Surely you have to answer the question as it is asked!!!

[buildersmate]

Yes, tigwig, because if its just a shed at present, it must involve a change of use to a domestic dwelling. As such it counts as a 'new' property. I'm pretty sure that's why Building Control are saying what they are saying. The size of the property doesn't come into it.