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Scrap second staircase rule in buildings below 30 metres and unlock 10,000 homes, Labour-linked thinktank says
A Labour-linked thinktank is urging the government to scrap second staircase requirements in buildings below 30 metres as it is claimed this could unlock 10,000 homes per year.
Scrap second staircase rule in buildings below 30 metres and unlock 10,000 homes, Labour-linked thinktank says #UKhousingThe Fabian Society said the government should look into the safety impact and viability improvements that could be gained by lifting the threshold to 30 metres as part of its review of high-risk buildings.
Unless current regulations are found to be “proportionate”, these should be axed from medium-rise blocks while ensuring other fire safety measures are still included, researchers at the policy group said.
The move is one of 10 policies, dubbed “quick wins”, that the influential society believes Labour should bring in to boost housebuilding.
The analysis in its report published today shows the government is only likely to achieve around two-thirds of its 1.5 million homes target this parliament.
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The paper, supported by the Land, Planning and Development Federation, argues that a further 87,000 homes per year could be unlocked under government reforms.
Six of these are related to planning – including a proposal to ease development on golf courses by adding these to definitions of ‘grey belt’ – and two aim to support councils.
Its argument for scrapping second staircases in buildings between 18 and 30 metres comes after the consultancy Place Base found the regulations had created a “viability chasm” for these developments.
Research by the group in February found schemes are designed to stay under the 18-metre threshold to avoid having to meet the requirements, meaning fewer homes are delivered.
It estimated that in total, some 18,000 homes are not built per year.
Applying this estimate to the proportion of high-rise schemes that fall within these heights, the Fabian Society argued 10,000 new homes could be unlocked if the rules are axed.
The thinktank also cited a government impact assessment which found only a marginal safety impact compared to the estimated £1.2bn cost to industry of the move.
“In practice, the 18 [metre] threshold has decreased supply and viability, especially for mid-rise developments, with a knock-on effect for affordable housing delivery and regeneration,” the Fabian Society wrote.
Last year, Peabody and Ealing Council said the regulations had made a decade-long regeneration scheme unviable and scrapped the project.
Research commissioned by the government in 2024, however, found the evacuation time from a high-rise block is halved when the building has a second staircase.
The policy was introduced three years ago after calls from safety campaigners and fire authorities following the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 72 people in 2017.
While the government originally proposed compulsory second staircases in buildings over 30 metres, a coalition of architects, building professionals, firefighters and disability rights groups urged it to lower the threshold to 18 metres.
Michael Gove, then secretary of state for housing, heeded their calls. Eighteen metres is also the height of buildings deemed ‘higher risk’ and subject to enhanced scrutiny via the Building Safety Regulator, another part of post-Grenfell changes to building safety regulation.
While the policy was being debated, a separate group of academics, engineers and consultants argued against reducing the height threshold.
Inside Housing contacted the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government for comment.
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