FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, D.C.—The D.C. Council gave unanimous approval today to legislation that would allow developers to build more units and higher-quality housing in small and mid-sized buildings through a change to the building code.
The One Front Door Act of 2025, introduced by Councilmember Brianne K. Nadeau, D-Ward 1, allows buildings up to six stories high to have one staircase in place of the current requirement for two. All multi-unit buildings over three stories currently require two staircases.
This allows substantially more usable floor space – allowing for more units and/or larger, family-sized units, and for better design with more light, cross-ventilation and better internal traffic flow.
It also reduces construction costs. One estimate, from a 2024 study in Boston, suggests that additional stairwells cost roughly $200,000 to $500,000 each. Construction savings and the addition of more livable space makes buildings more cost-effective, can reduce rents, and opens up smaller parcels to development that may not currently be viable.
“It’s a commonsense update of our building code that makes it easier to build medium-size buildings,” Nadeau said. “People have been building multi-unit structures with one staircase around the world and in some cities in the U.S., such as Seattle, New York, and Honolulu.”
Nadeau says many people ask whether it’s safe to have multi-unit buildings with only one staircase – a question she also asked when the idea was first presented to her.
Research shared by experts at the bill’s hearing in January shows that modern fire safety measures, including materials, sprinkler systems, smoke detectors, and others significantly reduce fire-related deaths and injuries, and that the presence of a second means of egress did not improve safety during fires.
The bill does not make the building code change itself; it directs the Department of Buildings, which has expertise in building codes, to draft changes by July 1, 2027. The bill was co-introduced by Councilmembers Robert White and Brooke Pinto and will get a second and final vote by the full Council on April 14.
“I’m using my final year as a Councilmember to find as many ways as possible to increase the number of affordable homes in the District,” Nadeau said. In addition to the One Front Door Act, Nadeau has introduced two other housing bills that are making their way through the Council.
One, co-authored by Councilmember Robert White, would replace the existing Housing Production Trust Fund with a more robust and modern financing mechanism for investing in new housing, subsidizing deeply affordable housing, preserving existing affordable housing, and helping tenants who want to buy their buildings. Councilmembers Charles Allen and Janeese Lewis George co-introduced the legislation.
The other sets ambitious targets for housing and affordable housing, specifically, in all parts of the District and updates them every five years, making sure that targets are met all around the District, not just in some areas. The bill was co-introduced by Councilmembers Janeese Lewis George, Zachary Parker, Christina Henderson, and Robert White.
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