Will a lack of a second staircase in your hi-rise flat affect its value?
The government has confirmed that second staircases will be required in all new tall residential buildings, from September 2026, writes Clive Scrivener, Partner at Wimbledon based Chartered Surveyors Scrivener Tibbatts.
Property developers will be delighted and can now dust off their plans, but for existing investors and owners, what will be the impact on the value of existing, single-staircase buildings? New development is one thing, but the bigger problem is how to treat existing stock: up and down the UK, almost all residential buildings built until 2023 have just one staircase. Reported here, by React, Molior data shows in London alone there have been more than 126 towers of more than 100 homes built up to 2023, and this total does not cover older for-sale stock.
The government has been very specific that the guidance will have no impact on existing buildings – and it has little choice. It is simply not financially possible to retrofit all high-rise towers around the UK.
We’ve written several times about the Grenfell Tower disaster and its impact on the property market. 2018’s Hackitt Review was intended to make builders think about the merits and safety of individual buildings. Safety systems in towers – from sprinklers to ventilation to high-tech detection – operating in conjunction with the containment principle, can make a second stairway unnecessary, especially in simply designed buildings.
While this is good news for older stock, it still means much will come down to the quality of individual buildings and the safety systems that come with them – and that can be expensive. Detection systems can be relatively cheap to install, but sprinklers require intrusive works that need to decant tenants. Poor compartmentalisation would require major retrofitting.
In my opinion valuers, like myself, will soon start having to consider potential price discounts for single-staircase older stock that does not have modern safety systems in place. The funds required for refurbishment to bring them up to standard will have to be taken into consideration.
It’s possible that in time the market will find a level where buildings over six storeys in hight with one stairwell cost less than those with two. If I knew when that might be, I’m sure we’d all be richer.
If you would like to discuss something related to a property valuation please contact Clive Scrivener direct via email at Clive@scrivenertibbatts.co.uk or call 020 8971 2983.
