Landing (stairs)
A landing is a level platform within or at the ends of a stair, required after 18 risers and at top and bottom, sized for safe footing and accessible manoeuvring.
Ask Chalkline about this →A landing is a level platform within or at the end of a stair flight, required after 18 risers and at the top and bottom of a stair, or at an entrance door. It is sized to give safe footing and, on an accessible path, room to manoeuvre.
The NCC requires a landing in a few situations:
- where a flight would otherwise exceed 18 risers (the landing breaks the run);
- at the top and bottom of every stair; and
- at a doorway, so there is a level area to stand on while operating the door.
A landing must be level (any fall is for drainage on external landings only), slip-resistant, and at least as wide as the stair, with a minimum length set by the code. On an accessible path of travel, larger landings are required so that a wheelchair can turn or wait clear of a door swing.
For a builder the practical move is to set landings out as part of the stair geometry from the start: after 18 risers, and at the top and bottom, each sized to at least the stair width and the minimum length. Watch the door swing, a door must not open in a way that leaves no safe standing area on the landing. And get the levels right so the landing reads as genuinely level, drains where it should (external), and does not create a trip at the threshold.
Also known as: Stair landing, half-landing (mid-flight).
Category: Stairs / Geometry.
Related
See also
References
- NCC stairs and balustrades (Chalkline) (verified 2026-06-01)
Last updated: 2026-06-01. Verified: 2026-06-01. Quarterly review for currency.