2-Staircase Apartment Complexes Are Slowly Vanishing

For the first time in about 100 years, a growing number of states are deciding one staircase in apartment complexes is enough. Since 2024, Colorado, Connecticut (with an asterisk), Maine, Montana, New Hampshire, Texas, and Tennessee have signed off on code shifts that allow smaller midrise apartment buildings to be erected with a single stairway instead of the long-standard two, with Washington state to follow in July, reports the New York Times. Massachusetts is also exploring the idea. Supporters say the change can unlock "unbuildable" small lots by shrinking building footprints and lowering costs, adding much-needed housing—especially in urban areas—without sacrificing safety. Advocates point to sprinklers, modern fireproof materials, and data from a Pew study in New York City that found no link between single-stair buildings and fire deaths.

Fire officials are more cautious. They warn that one stair can mean residents fleeing and firefighters entering through the same narrow shaft, complicating rescues, particularly in rural communities with fewer responders and longer response times. California is balking at the single-staircase concept for exactly this reason, with a recent report from the Office of the State Fire Marshal taking a "fairly dim view" of such plans, per CalMatters. The new rules generally cap building heights at four to six stories and limit the number of apartments per floor to keep evacuation routes short. As more states study the idea, the debate is sharpening around a core question: how far to relax long-standing safety rules to make a dent in the housing shortage.