There should be:
a) A wheelchair accessible entrance level WC, with
b) Drainage provision enabling a shower to be fitted in the future.

Stated specifications and dimensions required to meet criterion

The drainage provision for a future shower should be provided in all dwellings.

Dwellings of three or more bedrooms
For dwellings with three or more bedrooms, or on one level, the WC must be fully accessible. A wheelchair user should be able to close the door from within the closet and achieve side transfer from a wheelchair to at least one side of the WC. There must be at least 1100mm clear space from the front of the WC bowl.
The shower provision must be within the closet or adjacent to the closet.

Houses of two or fewer bedrooms
In small two-bedroom houses where the design has failed to achieve the above fully accessible standard WC, the Part M standard WC will meet this standard.

Frequently asked questions - Criterion 10

Q Is the fully accessible WC required in all flats regardless of their size?

A The fully accessible WC is required in all dwellings except houses / maisonettes, with two or more storeys and 2 or less bedrooms. (In these two-bedroom dwellings on two or more storeys, the fully accessible entrance level WC can be replaced with the entrance level WC as required by Part M). A fully accessible WC is therefore required in all flats (this may be located in the bathroom), regardless of their occupancy levels, as well as all houses/dwellings on two or more storeys with 3 or more bedrooms, and all bungalows.

10b) the drainage provision for a future accessible shower is applicable to all dwellings.

Q What are the dimensional requirements for a Lifetime Home fully accessible WC?

A A Lifetime Home fully accessible WC must have:
• A clear 700mm to one side of the WC. This dimension is measured from the outside edge of the cistern (or cistern housing if concealed) and must extend for the full depth of the WC bowl and cistern (or equivalent if the cistern is concealed). The depth of this side transfer space would therefore be c.750mm; and

• The centre line of the WC should be between 400mm – 500mm from a side wall / fixed structure; and

• A clear 1100mm to the front of the WC.

• See diagram below (Figure 4.)

Q What drainage provision is required to enable the accessible shower to be installed in the future? Is it required in all dwellings?

A This relates to provision for an accessible shower in the future if not already provided from the outset.

• Where this provision is within, or adjacent to, a downstairs WC compartment drainage to the floor of the compartment should be provided.
This can either take the form of an installed floor gulley with slight falls in the floor to drain to the gulley, or the provision of drainage capped off in the screed to enable such a gulley and falls to be provided at a later date. See Figure 5.

• If the provision is adjacent to the WC compartment, unless in a self contained area of minimum dimensions 1000mm x 1000mm, it must be within a contained area (e.g. a storage facility) that can easily be adapted to become part of the WC compartment in the future. Any dividing wall should therefore be non-structural or contain a removable panel to enable simple, cost effective, adaptation.

• Where the provision for the future accessible shower is within a bathroom of a flat (see criterion 14 below), this can be enabled by either the provision of the floor drain as described above (which may be under the bath) and the removal of the bath, or by removal of a bath and provision of a proprietary accessible shower tray connecting to existing drainage and/or with pumped drainage. See Criterion 14.

• This drainage provision is required in every dwelling.

Q What is the minimum floor area required for the future shower when it is in the downstairs WC compartment?

A The transfer spaces required for the fully accessible WC, as described in the answer above, are also considered adequate floor spaces for a Lifetime Home showering space. It is usual to locate the floor drain towards the rear corner of the side transfer space. See diagram below (Figure 5).

Q Can a flat over garages (FOG) and/or a duplex with no accommodation on the entrance level other than a private lobby giving access to a private stair to the first floor (the first floor being the storey with rooms) achieve the Lifetime Homes Standard?

A A dwelling with a lack of key entrance level LTH facilities (i.e. accessible WC, living space, potential for temporary bed-space and space for a through floor lift) cannot fully satisfy the required LTH Criteria.

However, a case can be put with flats over garages (FOGs) which have no entrance level accommodation at all, that if a private staircase up to the storey containing the rooms is ‘easy going’, with goings and risers meeting the ‘easy going’ pitch (i.e. suitable for some ambulant disabled people), and has adequate width (min 900mm) and landings for a stair-lift, then a FOG has equal, or better, accessibility as a walk up LTH flat approached by a communal stair. If the FOG also contains all the other relevant LTH Criteria, then given the limitations imposed by the stair access situation, the LTH principles for that FOG are met as far as is practicable and possible.

If the above principle is also applied to a duplex also served by a private staircase and no ‘entrance level’ facilities, then to achieve the LTH principles as far as possible, the duplex should be treated as a LTH property with the entrance to that property at the top of the initial flight of (easy going) stairs. Entrance level LTH facilities (the accessible WC, living space, potential through floor lift space, and potential bed-space should therefore be on the initial (first) storey that contains accommodation.

In practice, FOGs and duplexes with no ‘entrance level’ accommodation will not be able to maximise the ‘vistability’ aspects within some LTH principles. The above, if applied, will however maximise potential use and accessibility of the dwelling having regard for the initial entrance / staircase situation.

Additional good practice recommendations

(i) Increase the size of the showering space to a minimum 1000mm x 1000mm.

(ii) Fully fit out the entrance level facility with shower and finishes to provide a wet room from the outset.