Existing staircase - need to conform to Buliding regs 2010.

[laila]

Hi All,
I am hoping someone can help me here. I have several staircases in a non domestic building which do not conform to the 2010 Building Regs. These were build long time before 2010 (not a historic building) Do we need to change all the stairs to conform or can they be left as they are and any new ones we fit will have to conform? I could not find anything in the regs or online.
Any advice will be appreciated.

 

[TheVictorian]

Building regulations do not apply retrospectively.

 

[laila]

Thanks for that. What about Regularisation?

 

[big-all]

if this is a building open to the public then other regulations may come into effect ??

 

[^woody^]

If someone injures themselves on the stairs, then the onus will be on you to prove that they are safe. This is independent of building regulations, but the regulations are used as standard to demonstrate safety.

So whilst stairs only need to comply with the building regualtions in force at the time they were built, they need to comply with contemporary standards for safety. Handrails and visible tread nosings come to mind.

 

[jeds]

Thanks for that. What about Regularisation?

As above, regulations aren't applied retrospectively. Regularisation won't add anything. Your responsibility is to make them safe to use so why not just do that.