If you are involved in the construction of a new property (or the material change of use in a refurbishment project) then Building Regulation Part Q will be important to your development.

Any window or door that could provide access into your property (whether external – on the ground floor, basement or accessible roof areas – or from an internal communal area), should conform to quality standards that will ensure they are sufficiently robust enough to withstand a breach attempt by an ‘opportunity burglar’.

This is not a quality regulation designed to produce doors and windows that can withstand the efforts of a professional burglar with all the right tools. Part Q is aimed at ensuring that access points are reasonably resistant to the efforts of an opportunist, someone who without proper tools or knowledge would look to enter a property on a whim.

To conform to Part Q, windows and doors must be manufactured to designs that have been tested to ensure that they meet the security requirements of British Standards Publication PAS 24:2012. Compliance requires accessible doors and windows to not only have a certified system, but that this also meets certified standards.

Should you require more information on Part Q compliance, what is required for windows and doors and which windows and doors on your project may need to be compliant, either visit the GOV.UK website Security in Dwellings: Approved Document Q page or contact us on 0203 409 6789 or email office@sashline.co.uk