Part M Regulations 2010 (Access and Use)
The requirement for a Disability Access Certificate (DAC) came into effect on 1st January 2010 for new buildings (other than dwellings houses) which commence on or after that date.
A DAC is a certificate granted by a Building Control Authority which certifies compliance of the design of certain works (e.g. new buildings (except dwelling houses), some extensions to, and some material alterations to buildings (except dwelling houses) with the requirements of Part M of the Building Regulations 2000.
In general, this document applies to works, or buildings in which certain material changes of use take place, where the works commence or the change of use takes place, as the case may be on or after 1 January 2012.
Technical Guidance Document M – Access for People with Disabilities, dated 2000, also ceases to have effect from that date.
The 'new' Regulations underpin the principle of Universal Design. Defined in the Disability Act 2005 as "the design and composition of an environment so that it may be accessed, understood and used to the greatest practicable extent, in the most independent and natural manner possible, in the widest possible range of situations and without the need for adaptation, modification, assistive devices or specialised solutions, by persons of any age or size or having any particular physical, sensory, mental health or intellectual ability or disability."
Buildings should be designed so that they are easy for people to use and to reflect the fact that all people experience changes in their abilities as they progress through the different stages of life.
