Survey finding
Single staircase: means of escape and what UK buyers should check
Single-staircase design on residential blocks has become a focus of fire safety policy post-Grenfell. This page covers what to ask for in flats and how lenders treat higher-risk buildings.
Last updated: .
Finding
Single staircase: means of escape
What this usually means
Means of escape from fire is a Building Regulations Part B issue. For domestic houses, a single protected stair is usually adequate. For flats above certain heights, fire safety regulations have evolved post-Grenfell, including, from October 2024, a requirement that new residential blocks above 18m have a second staircase (the rule applies to England; commencement details vary). For existing buildings, single-staircase design is not a defect by itself but should be assessed against the building's fire risk assessment.
Why it matters
Single-staircase findings affect leasehold flats more than houses. A fire risk assessment for the building should specifically address single-staircase implications. Lenders and insurers in higher-risk buildings have become more selective post-Grenfell.
Ask your surveyor
- Check:Is the property in a residential block, and what is the building height and storey count?
- Check:Is there a current fire risk assessment for the building?
Ask the seller
- Check:Is the building above 18m or over 7 storeys?
- Check:Is there a current fire risk assessment, and any waking watch in place?
Next steps
- •Get two written quotes from local trades before negotiating with the seller.
- •Speak to your mortgage broker before exchanging if the finding affects mortgageability.
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What you need to know
Severity
Significant. Specialist follow-up usually warranted before exchange.
Typical cost to fix
Fire risk assessment for a block: arranged by the freeholder/managing agent, recharged through service charge. Adding a second staircase to an existing block is usually not feasible.
Mortgage impact
Lenders are more cautious about higher-risk buildings without satisfactory fire safety documentation. EWS1 status, fire risk assessment, and waking watch arrangements are the documents lenders look at.
Insurance impact
Block insurance for flats has risen in higher-risk buildings post-Grenfell. Single-staircase design may be one of multiple factors insurers price.
When to pull out
Pull out only if the building's fire safety status is unresolved. The lender refuses, and remediation is open-ended.
When to renegotiate, and by how much
Single-staircase findings on individual flats are generally not a price-renegotiation item per se, the broader building fire safety status is what affects price.
Thinking of pulling out or renegotiating? What to do after a bad survey
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The Survey Decoder explains the wording. The full report adds address-specific flood, subsidence, EPC, crime, listed status, building age and price comparison data, so a single finding isn't judged in isolation.
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Check the property before you offer
Free preview: flood risk, EPC rating, crime, tenure and air quality. The £9.99 report adds the remaining 17 checks, 22 in all, drawing on up to 15 public datasets.
Run a free previewRead next
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How MyPropertyScan produces this guide, and what it is not
Published by MyPropertyScan and written by Ziad Nasr, who is accountable for its accuracy. No page here is written or reviewed by a chartered surveyor, conveyancer or regulated adviser, and we do not claim otherwise.
This page is not:
- Chartered surveying: we do not inspect properties or produce RICS Home Survey reports
- Legal advice: we do not act as conveyancers or advise on title, tenure or contracts
- Mortgage or insurance advice: we are not regulated by the FCA and give no recommendations
Figures and process steps come from the published UK datasets and standards listed on this page, not from professional practice. Pages are updated when source coverage, survey cost assumptions, or lender and legal requirements materially change. Dataset limitations are set out on the methodology page.
Spotted something out of date or wrong? Email [email protected] and we will correct it and change the update date.
Sources used
We use UK public and specialist sources where they are available. Public datasets can be incomplete, delayed, or missing for some addresses. Treat them as a starting point, not as a replacement for professional advice.
Source standard: preference goes to official government datasets, statutory bodies, professional standards, and primary dataset publishers. We cite the source family on the page and explain coverage limits rather than filling gaps with unsupported estimates.
- Professional standard: RICS Home Survey StandardRICS standard for condition-based residential surveys in the UK.
- Learn more from: RICS consumer guide to surveysConsumer-facing guide to survey types and when each level is appropriate.
- Official guidance: GOV.UK buying or selling your homeGovernment overview of the home buying and selling process.