New buildings taller than 18m to require second staircase

Housing secretary Michael Gove has confirmed the government will require two staircases in all new residential high-rises taller than 18m, rather than the 30m threshold previously proposed.

Last year, the government published a consultation proposing to improve fire safety for high-rise residents by mandating two staircases in all new residential buildings above 30m.

While the outcome of this consultation has not yet been published, Gove has confirmed the government would be opting for the lower 18m height following 'confirmation from expert bodies that they support this threshold'.

He said: "This is a considered and gradual evolution of safety standards which, when taken with our other fire safety measures and reforms, ensures the safety of people in all tall buildings – both new and existing."

Until now, tall buildings in England only require a single staircase. In Scotland, all buildings 18m tall (or seven storeys) have required two staircases since 2019.

The National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) urged the government to mandate a second staircase on all new buildings above 18m.

In February, the mayor of London introduced a rule with immediate effect requiring a second staircase on all new applications of buildings over 30m.

Gove said the announcement on the threshold 'responds to the call from the sector for coherence and certainty'. He added that the government was clear the new regulation cannot 'jeopardise the supply of homes by disrupting schemes that have been planned for years'.

He added: "The DLUHC will work rapidly with industry and regulators over the summer to design transitional arrangements with the aim of securing the viability of projects which are already underway, avoiding delays where there are other more appropriate mitigations."

In a document published on 23 December, the DLUHC said it was 'concerned that some tall residential buildings are being designed with a single staircase without due consideration by the designers on the level of safety provided'.

Proposing the 30m threshold, the department said: "It's our view that the provisions of a second staircase can provide some benefits for very tall residential buildings such as added resilience for extreme events and reduced conflicts between emergency responders entering a building and those trying to escape, reducing the risk of the smoke ingress into an "escape" stairwell.

"In addition, [with] the provision of a second staircase, residents will have an alternative means of escape in the event one route became filled with smoke."

This story first appeared on Architects' Journal