Provision of Lift as Requirements of Part of Building in UDCPR 2020

Mar 31, 2024

UDCPR 2020 Chapter 9 is all about the Requirements of Part of the Building as per mentioned in the UDCPR

This is Applicable to all Planning Authorities and Regional Plan Areas except Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, Other Planning Authorities/Special Planning Authorities/ Development Authorities within the limit of Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai, MIDC, NAINA, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, Hill Station Municipal Councils, Eco-sensitive/Eco-fragile region notified by MoEF & CC and Lonavala Municipal Council, in Maharashtra.

Rule No. 9.27 Provision of Lift

9.27.1 Planning and Design

At least one lift shall be provided in every building that is more than 15 m in height. In the case of buildings more than 24 m. height, at least two lifts shall be provided. However, in the case of a proposal to add one additional floor to an existing building with a lift, it will not be necessary to raise the existing lift to the additional floor.

For buildings or floors of the building to be constructed for Retirement Homes or Senior Citizen Housing, a lift shall be provided irrespective of the height of the building.

The planning and design of lifts including their number, type, and capacity depending on the occupancy of the building, the population of each floor based on the occupant load and the building height shall be in accordance with Section-5 - Installation of Lift & Escalators of Part VIII - Building Services of National Building Code of India.

All the floors shall be accessible for 24 hours by the lifts. The lifts provided in the buildings shall not be considered as a means of escape in case of emergency. Grounding switch at ground floor level to enable the fire service to ground the lift cars in an emergency shall also be provided.

The lift machine rooms shall be separate and no other machinery shall be installed therein.

9.27.2 Fire Lift

Fire lift shall be provided as mentioned in Regulation No.9.29.8.

Rule No. 9.28 Exit Requirements

9.28.1 The following General requirements shall apply to exits

a) In every building or structure, exits shall comply with the minimum requirements of this part, except those not accessible for general public use.

b) Every exit, exit access or exit discharge shall be continuously maintained free of all obstructions or impediments to full use in the case of fire or other emergency.

c) Every building meant for human occupancy shall be provided with exits sufficient to permit safe escape of occupants, in case of fire or other emergency.

d) No building shall be so altered as to reduce the number, width, or protection of exits to less than that required.

e) Exits shall be clearly visible and the route to reach the exits shall be clearly marked and signs posted to guide the occupants of the floor concerned.

f) All exits shall provide continuous means of egress to the exterior of a building or to an exterior open space leading to a street and,

g) Exits shall be so arranged that they may be reached without passing through another occupied unit.

9.28.2 Type of Exits

An exit may be a doorway, a corridor, a passage, or a way to an internal staircase or external staircase, a ramp, or to a verandah and/or terraces that have eaves to the street or to the roof of a building. An exit may also include a horizontal exit leading to an adjoining building at the same level. Lifts and escalators shall not be considered as exits.

9.28.3 Number and Size of Exits

The requisite number and size of various exits shall be provided, based on the number of occupants in each room and floor based on the occupant load, capacity of exits; travel distance, and height of the building as per provisions of Regulation No.9.28.4 to Regulation No.9.28.8.

9.28.4 Arrangement of Exits

Exits shall be so located that the travel distance on the floor shall not exceed as given below :-

Table No.9-D
Type of Building	Travel Distance
Residential, Educational, institutional, and Hazardous occupancies	22.5 m.
Assembly, business, mercantile, Industrial, and Storage Occupancies	30.0 m.

Whenever more than one exit is required for a floor of a building, exits shall be placed at remote from each other as possible. All the exits shall be accessible from the entire floor area at all floor levels.

Note – For the buildings where a sprinkler system has been provided in the entire building for fire fighting, the travel distance may be increased by 50% of the value specified in the above table.

9.28.5 Occupant Load

For determining the exits required, the number of persons within any floor area or the occupant load shall be based on the actual number of occupants, but in no case less than that specified in Table No.9-E below :-

Table No.9-E
Sr. No	Group of Occupancy	Occupant Load Floor Area in sq.m. per person
(1)	(2)	(3)
1	Residential	12.5
2	Educational	4.0
3	Institutional	15 (See Note i)
4	Assembly
	a) With fixed or loose seats and dance floors	0.6 (See Note ii)
	b) Without seating facilities including dining rooms	.5 (See Note ii)
5	Mercantile
	a) Street floor & Sales basement	3
	b) Upper sale floors	6
6	Business and Industrial	10
7	Storage	30
8	Hazardous	10

Note :

i) Occupant load in dormitory portions of homes for the aged, orphanages, insane, asylums etc. where sleeping accommodation is provided, shall be calculated at not less than 7.5 Sq.m. gross floor area per person.

ii) The gross floor area shall include, in addition to the main assembly rooms or space, any occupied connecting room or space in the same storey or in the storeys above or below where the entrance is common to such rooms and spaces and they are available for use by the occupants of the assembly place. No deductions shall be made in the area for corridors, closets or other subdivisions, that area shall include all space serving the particular assembly occupancy.

9.28.6 Capacity of Exits

1) The unit of exit width used to measure the capacity of any exit should be 50 cm. A clear width of 25 cm. should be counted as an additional half unit. Clear width less than 25 cm. should not be computed for exit width.

2) Occupants per unit exit width shall be in accordance with Table No. 9-F

Table No. 9-F
Sr.No.	Group of Occupancy	Number of Occupants
Sr.No.	Group of Occupancy	Stairways	Ramps	Doors
(1)	(2)	(3)	(4)	(5)
1	Residential	25	50	75
2	Educational	25	50	75
3	Institutional	25	50	75
4	Assembly	40	50	60
5	Business	50	60	75
6	Mercantile	50	60	75
7	Industrial	50	60	75
8	Storage	50	60	75
9	Hazardous	25	30	40

9.28.7 Provision for Staircase

All buildings having a height more than the ground floor shall have the provision of one staircase. The special buildings specified in Regulations No.1.3(93)(xiv) shall have two staircases out of which one shall be a fire escape staircase.

They shall be of enclosed type. At least one of them shall be on the external walls of buildings and shall open directly to the exterior, interior open space or to an open place of safety. Further, the provision or otherwise of alternative staircases shall be subject to the requirements of travel distance being complied with.

A staircase shall not be provided around the lift shaft unless provided with a fire stop door of 1-hour rating at every floor level and no other openings in the inside wall as illustrated below.

9.28.8 Width of staircase

The minimum width of staircases/corridors for various buildings shall be as below.

Table No.9-G - Minimum width of staircase
S. No	Use of Building	Minimum width of staircase (in m.)
1	Residential Buildings
	a) Individual Housing up to G + 2 storeys	0.75
	b) Multi-storied Residential Building upto 15 m. height	1.00
	c) Multi-storied Residential Building above 15 m. & upto 24 m. height	1.20
	d) Multi-storied Residential Building above 24 m.height	1.50
2	Residential Hotel Buildings	1.50
3	Assembly buildings like auditoriums, theatres, cinemas, multiplexes, Mangal Karyalaya, marriage halls, etc.	2.00
4	Institutional & Educational Buildings	2.00
5	All other buildings excluding Sr. No. (1) to (4) above like	1.50

Note - Internal staircase for duplex tenements shall be of minimum width 0.75 m. and for mezzanine floor shall be of minimum width 0.90 m.

Rule No. 9.29 Other Requirements of Individual Exit at Each Floor

The detailed requirements in respect of exits shall be as provided in Regulations No.9.29.1

to 9.29.8 given below.

9.29.1 Doorways

i) Every exit doorway shall open into an enclosed stairway or a horizontal exit, or a corridor or passageway providing continuous and protected means of egress:

ii) No exit doorway shall be less than 90 cm. in width except in assembly buildings where door width shall be not less than 200 cm. The doorway shall be not less than 200 cm. in height. Doorways for the bathrooms, water closets or stores shall be not less than 75 cm. wide.

iii) Exit doorways shall open outwards, that is away from the room but shall not obstruct the travel along any exit. No door, when opened shall reduce the required width of stairways or landing to less than 90 cm. Overheads or sliding doors shall not be installed.

iv) Exit door shall not open immediately upon a flight of stairs. A landing equal to at least the width of the door shall be provided in the stairway at each doorway. The level of landing shall be the same as that of the floor which it serves.

v) Exit doorway shall be openable from the side which they serve without the use of a key.

vi) Mirrors shall not be placed in exitways or exit doors to avoid confusion regarding the direction of exit.

9.29.2 Revolving doors

Revolving doors shall not be used as required exits except in residential business and mercantile occupancies but they shall not constitute more than half the total required door width.

9.29.3 Stairways

i) The interior staircase shall be constructed of non-combustible materials throughout.

ii) The interior staircase shall be constructed as a self-contained unit with at least one side to the extent of the required opening adjacent to an external wall and shall be completely enclosed.

iii) Hollow combustible construction shall not be permitted.

iv) The minimum width of the tread without nosing shall be 25 cm. for an internal staircase for residential buildings. In the case of other buildings, the minimum tread shall be 30 cm. The treads shall be constructed and maintained in a manner to prevent slipping.

v) The maximum height of the riser shall be 19 cm. in the case of residential buildings and 15 cm. in the case of other buildings. They shall be limited to 15 per flight.

vi) Handrails shall be provided with a minimum height of 100 cm. from the centre of the tread to the top of the handrails. Balusters/railing shall be provided such that the width of the staircase does not reduce.

vii) Floor indicator - The number of each floor shall be conspicuously painted in figures at least 15 cm. large on the wall facing the flights of a stairway or at such suitable place as is distinctly visible from the flights.

viii) The minimum headroom in a passage under the landing of a staircase shall be 2.2 m.

ix) For special buildings, access to the main staircase shall be gained through at least half an hour fire fire-resisting automatic closing doors placed in the enclosing wall of the staircase. It shall be a swing-type door opening in the direction of the escape.

x) No living space, store or other space including fire risk shall open directly into the staircase.

xi) External exit door of the staircase enclosure at ground level shall open directly to the open spaces or should be reached without passing through any door other than a door provided to form a draught lobby.

xii) In the case of assembly, institutional or residential occupancies or hotels or industrial and hazardous occupancies, the exit sign with an arrow indicating the way to the escape route shall be provided at a height of 0.5 m. from the floor level on the wall and shall be illuminated by electric light connected to corridor circuits. All exit way marking signs should be flushed with the wall and so designed that no mechanical damage shall occur to them due to the moving of furniture or other heavy equipment. Further, all landings of the floor shall have floor-indicating boards prominently indicating the number of floors. The floor indication board shall be placed on the wall immediately facing the flight of stairs and nearest to the landing. It shall be of the size not less than 0.5 m. x 0.5 m.

xiii) In case of a single staircase, it shall terminate at the ground floor level and the access to the basement shall be by a separate staircase. Whenever the building is served by more than one staircase one of the staircases may lead to the basement level provided the same is separated at ground level by either a ventilated lobby or a cut-off screen wall without opening, having a fire resistance of not less than 2 hours with discharge point at two different ends or through enclosures. It shall also be cut off from the basement areas at various basement levels by a protected and ventilated lobby or lobbies.

9.29.4 Fire escape or external stairs

A fire escape or external stair shall be provided as provided in Regulation No.9.28.7. External stairs, when provided, shall comply with the following :

i) External stairs shall always be kept in sound operable conditions.

ii) All external stairs shall be directly connected to the ground.

iii) Entrance to the external stairs shall be separate and remote from the internal staircase.

iv) Care shall be taken to ensure that no wall opening or window opens on to or close to external stairs.

v) The route to the external stairs shall be free of obstructions at all times.

vi) The external stairs shall be constructed of non-combustible materials, and any doorway leading to it shall have the required fire resistance.

vii) No external staircase, used as a fire escape, shall be inclined at an angle greater than 45 degrees from the horizontal.

viii) External stairs shall have straight flight not less than 1250 mm. wide with 250 mm. treads and risers not more than 190 mm. The number of risers shall be limited to 15 per flight.

ix) Handrails shall be of a height not less than 1000 mm. and not exceeding 1200 mm. There shall be provisions of balusters with a maximum gap of 150 mm.

x) The use of spiral staircases shall be limited to low occupant load and to a building not exceeding 9 m. in height. A spiral staircase shall be not less than 1500 mm. in diameter and shall be designed to give adequate headroom.

xi) An Unprotected steel frame staircase will not be accepted as a means of escape. However, a steel staircase in an enclosed fire-rated compartment of 2 h will be accepted as a means of escape.

xii) The fire escape staircase shall be connected to other staircases through the common passage on every floor.

9.29.5 Corridors and passageways

i) The minimum width of a corridor shall not be less than 75 cm. in the case of 2 storeys row housing residential buildings and 100 cm. in the case of other buildings and the actual width shall be calculated based on the provision of Regulations No.9.28.3 to 9.28.8 (both inclusive)

ii) Where there is more than one staircase serving a building, there shall be at least one smoke-stop door in the space between the staircases.

iii) Exit corridors & passageways shall be of a width not less than the aggregate required width of exit doorways leading from them in the direction of travel of the exterior/stairways.

iv) Where stairways discharge through corridors & passageways the height of the corridors & passageways shall not be less than 2.4 m.

v) All means of exit including staircases, lifts, lobbies & corridors shall be adequately ventilated.

9.29.6 Refuge Area

For buildings more than 24 m. in height, a refuge area of 15 sq.m. or an area equivalent to 0.3 sq.m. per person to accommodate the occupants of two consecutive floors, whichever is higher, shall be provided as under :

The refuge area shall be provided on the periphery of the floor or preferably on a cantilever projection and open to air at least on one side protected with suitable railings.

a) For floors above 24.0 m. and up to 39.0 m. height - One refuge area on the floor immediately above 24.0 m.

b) For floors above 39.0 m height - One refuge area on the floor immediately above 39.0 m. and so on after every 15.0 m.

9.29.7 Lifts and Escalators

i) Lifts :- Provision of lift shall be made as mentioned in Regulation No.9.27.

ii) Escalators :- Escalators may be permitted in addition to required lifts. Such escalators may also be permitted in the atrium area of the buildings.

9.29.8 Fire lift

Where applicable, fire lifts shall be provided with a minimum capacity for 8 passengers and fully automated with an emergency switch on ground level. In general, buildings 15.0 m. in height or above shall be provided with fire lifts. In case of fire, only the fireman shall operate the fire lift. In normal course, it may be used by other persons. Each fire lift shall be equipped with suitable inter-communication equipment for communicating with the control room on the ground floor of the building. The number and location of fire lifts in a building shall be decided after taking into consideration various factors like building population, floor area, compartmentation, etc.

9.29.9 Fire Escape Chutes/controlled Lowering Device for evacuation

i) a) High-rise buildings having a height of more than 70 m. shall necessarily be provided with fire escape chute shaft/s for every wing adjacent to the staircase.

b) Walls of the shaft shall have 4 hours of fire resistance.

c) One side of the shaft shall be at the external face of the building with proper ventilation.

d) The dimension of the shaft shall not be less than 2.5 m. x 1.5 m.

e) The access to the fire escape chute's shaft shall be made at every floor level from the lobby area or from the staircase mid-landing with a self-closing door having fire resistance of at least

one hour.

f) The fire chute shall be of staggered type with landing of each section at the vertical height

of not more than 21.0 m.

Alternatively,

ii) High-rise buildings having a height of more than 70.0 m., shall be provided with a fire tower at the landing/mid-landing level with a smoke check lobby with a fireman lift being an integral part of the fire escape staircase or fire evacuation lift (Hydro pneumatic/electrically operated) on the external face of the building having opening within the fire escape staircase at landing/mid-landing level with smoke check lobby as approved by Chief Fire Officer shall be provided.

Note - Both the smoke check lobby and with evacuation lift shall have a positive level difference of a minimum of 75 mm. with respect to the staircase landing or mid-landing level to avoid ingress of water in the fireman lift shaft.

9.29.10 Refuge chute/Garbage Chute -

In residential buildings, Refuge chute/garbage chute may be provided with opening on each floor or on mid-landing. Design and specifications of Refuge chute shall be in accordance with provisions of IS 6924.