30 Month Grace Period for New Second Staircase Requirement

On Tuesday 24 October 2023, Housing Secretary Michael Gove announced that developers will have a 30-month transitional period before they have to include a second staircase in residential high-rise buildings over 18 metres in height. This transitional period will begin from the date the government formally publishes the new building regulations, which Gove said the Building Safety Regulator is “rapidly” working to agree the design details of.

Once the new regulations have been brought in, approved applications that do not follow the new guidance will have 18 months to “get under way in earnest”, or else they will have to submit a fresh application following the new guidance. What counts as being “underway in earnest”? Gove says this will be when the pouring of concrete for the permanent placement of foundations or piling has started.

The announcement will no doubt be welcome news to developers, given the uncertainty and delay the second staircase requirement has caused to many development schemes since it was announced back in July. This grace period should ensure that projects including buildings over 18 metres in height with one staircase that have already been granted planning permission can proceed without further delay. Gove stressed that “existing and upcoming single staircase buildings are not inherently unsafe” and said that he expected lenders, managing agents and insurers not to impose onerous additional requirements on single staircase buildings.

Despite this breathing space, the Government has not yet provided any detail on how the new guidance will work. However, Gove’s ministerial statement promises a further announcement soon.

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