The fourteenth alert in the series "Tuesday Mornings for Construction Workers" was devoted to the amended provisions of the Building Law introducing additional, mandatory safeguards at the time of a planned change of use of a given building or part thereof.
The above safeguards will be mandatory when a change is made, involving the commencement or discontinuation of activities in a building or part thereof that alter fire safety conditions . Pursuant to the added Article 71, Section 2a of the Building Law in the version in force from September 19, 2020, the notification of a change in the manner of use of a building, in accordance with the upcoming amendment to the Building Law, will additionally, and most importantly, obligatorily, include a specially prepared, specialist fire safety expert opinion prepared by a professional .
Therefore, in the event of changing the intended use of a given residential premises, for example to a kindergarten, or converting a basement room in a multi-unit residential building (so-called apartment block) into a so-called escape room, it will be necessary and mandatory to prepare and obtain a professional fire safety assessment.
The authors of the legislative changes described here likely remembered the tragic event that took place at a Koszalin escape room in January 2019. Hence, they introduced the aforementioned requirement to prepare a fire safety assessment in the event of a change in the facility's intended use. This newly introduced regulation is primarily intended to prevent changes in intended use that could pose a threat to human life or health due to failure to comply with fire safety requirements.
The described provisions enter into force after 6 months from the date of announcement of the amendment in question, i.e. after 6 months from 18 March 2020.
In summary, it should be emphasized that the revised provisions of the Building Law, which impose the requirement to obtain an industry-specific expert opinion, are primarily intended to strengthen safety-related issues, particularly in the event of a change in building use that impacts fire safety. Therefore, there is no doubt that the amendment to the Building Law will translate into changes in the current, daily activities and actions undertaken by architectural bodies.
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Download the table containing the changes
This material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
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