Part L regulations have remained fairly consistent in recent years, and refer to the means of escape in the event of a fire.
According to building regulations, all habitable rooms above ground level have to have a means of escape. In the case of a single storey dwelling (e.g. a bungalow) there should be 2 exits (so a front and back door), and if not then the habitable rooms have to have a means of escape as well.
Essentially this means is that a minimum of one of the openers in one of the windows in the habitable room needs to be fitted with an escape hinge mechanism and be of a sufficient size.
The clear area of the escape needs to be a minimum area of 0.33m² and has to be a minimum of 450mm in both the height and width.
This opening should also not be any higher than 1100mm from the internal floor of the room. This does not apply to habitable rooms on floors which are more than 4.5m from the outside ground level (e.g. 3 storey houses and more)
A habitable room is classed as – “a room used or intended to be used, for a dwelling house purpose (including for the purposes of Part B, a kitchen but not a bathroom).” This is according to Part B of the building regulations. Roughly translated a habitable room is classed as a lounge, bedroom, kitchen or dining room depending on what is on the first floor of your home, if you have a first floor flat, or a bungalow with only one means of escape.
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