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BSI unveils new cladding fire risk guidance to replace Consolidated Advice Note
The British Standards Institution (BSI) has published a long-awaited new code of practice to help assess the risk of firespread from external walls and cladding on multi-storey blocks of flats.
The 180-page guidance, called PAS 98890, is expected to replace the government’s controversial Consolidated Advice Note, which has led to chaos for many leaseholders who have been unable to sell their property.
The Consolidated Advice Note, which was issued in January 2020, called for building owners to check cladding systems on all blocks regardless of height. However this week, housing secretary Michael Gove confirmed that the note was being scrapped.
The BSI’s new guidance, which comes into effect on 31 January, provides a five-step assessment for fire safety professionals to identify a building’s risk factors.
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It said: “The PAS applies where the risk is known, or suspected, to arise from the form of construction used for the external wall build up, such as the presence of combustible materials.”
In the cover note to the document, it said: “The height of the building is included as a risk factor. The extent to which a building’s external walls pose a risk is inherently lower if the number of storeys is limited.”
In a press notice on the new guidance, the BSI said: “Not all buildings will require an appraisal, and of those that do, not all will require intrusive inspection.”
It added: “Where homeowners and building owners are faced with external wall construction which does not meet the expected standards, PAS 9980 provides a methodology for assessing the level of safety.
“It also identifies the proportionate steps that could be taken to better safeguard residents while seeking not to expose them to undue financial burdens.”
The new standards is for use by “competent fire engineers and other competent building professionals tasked with advising on the fire risk of external wall construction of existing blocks of flats”, according to the BSI.
The organisation stressed that the new code does not “alter the obligations placed upon those carrying out building work on external wall construction, nor does it affect the compliance of past building work, whether measured against building regulations or contractual obligations”.
The new code, sponsored by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities and the Home Office, also gives recommendations and guidance on the competence of those carrying out fire risk assessments.
The guidance has been developed by a steering group of construction, fire, housing and safety experts, the BSI said.
Separate fire risk guidance from the BSI, known as PAS 79-2, was withdrawn last year, after a bereaved Grenfell family threatened legal action, saying it ignored critical inquiry recommendations relating to people who have disabilities.
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