A change that has now taken effect
The 2026 amendments to Approved Document B took effect in England on 30 September 2026. They recommend more than one common stair in blocks of flats with a top storey at least 18 metres high, and include design provisions supporting evacuation lifts.
This is guidance supporting Building Regulations compliance. The height is assessed using the document’s method; do not substitute an approximate number of floors.
Check the transition arrangements
Earlier guidance may still apply where the relevant building notice, initial notice or full-plans building control application was made before 30 September 2026 and the work meets the specified progress conditions. The circular identifies 30 March 2028 as the further deadline. Planning permission alone is not the submission described by that transition.
What about an existing occupied block?
The amendment is not, by itself, a blanket instruction to fit another staircase to every existing block. Existing-building risk management and proposed building work need their own assessment. Obtain project-specific advice before drawing a conclusion about what your building needs.
Our suggested questions for a project meeting
- Which edition and amendments form the design basis?
- What is the confirmed top-storey height?
- Is a transition being relied on, and where is the evidence?
- Who is coordinating the fire strategy and building control discussions?
- How will the completed building’s records be handed to its managers?
Put the answers in one place. Conflicting assumptions between drawings, quotations and management records are much easier to resolve before work is commissioned.
Keep design and ongoing management connected
Owners managing multiple properties should know which documents belong to each building and who can explain them. When alterations are planned, provide the existing records to the project team early. When work is complete, make sure the operational team knows what changed.
We can discuss your existing FRA and the questions it raises. Where a matter needs a fire engineer or design-team decision, that should be identified clearly rather than hidden inside a general assessment quotation.
Make the next step clear.
Discuss your building and assessment needs
Practical advice from Darren J Young MIFSM, 1st Aid Fire.
Sources & scope
Sources checked 11 October 2026. This is an introductory update, not a substitute for the complete documents or a premises-specific assessment.