Cal. Civ. Code § 202
Egress from dwellings
Operative Text
§ 202. Egress from dwellings. 1. Nursing and convalescent homes, homes for the aged and boarding and nursery schools, two stories in height erected after July first, nineteen hundred fifty-seven, child caring institutions, two stories in height erected after July first, nineteen hundred sixty-two, and all dwellings three or more stories in height shall have at least two fire-stairs. Except as otherwise specifically provided in subdivision four, such fire-stairs shall extend from the entrance story to the roof and be equipped with fireproof self-closing doors glazed with wire glass and without transoms. No windows shall be required in such stairs, but any openings in exterior walls, except any window openings facing a street or yard, shall be equipped with fireproof frame and sash and glazed with wire glass. 2. Every such fire-stair shall have an entrance on the entrance story from a street or an entrance at the side or rear of the dwelling from a yard, court or passageway having continuous, safe and unobstructed access to a street. Every required stair and stair-landing shall be at least three feet eight inches in clear width. 3. There shall be horizontal access from every apartment to at least two fire-stairs, at least one of which shall be within one hundred feet horizontally in the line of travel from a required means of egress from such apartment. 4. A dwelling as a rule transiently or temporarily occupied, in which at least eighty per centum of the living rooms above the second story open directly upon a public hall without any intervening foyer or private hall, shall have at least two fire-stairs accessible at each story from each room through a public hall. Such fire-stairs shall be so located that at least one fire-stair shall be not more than one hundred twenty-five feet along the line of travel from the means of egress from any living room. Every such fire-stair shall have a clear width of at least three feet eight inches. Two such fire-stairs shall be deemed adequate for seventy living rooms on any story. 5. Nursing and convalescent homes, homes for the aged, and boarding and nursery schools, one story in height, erected after July first, nineteen hundred fifty-seven, and child caring institutions, one story in height, erected after July first, nineteen hundred sixty-two, shall have at least two means of egress from the dwelling accessible to every apartment providing free and unobstructed egress by a door opening to the outer air.
N.Y. Mult. Resid. Law § 202 establishes minimum fire-egress requirements for multi-story dwellings and certain care facilities in New York. Buildings of three or more stories, as well as specified nursing homes, boarding schools, and child-care institutions meeting defined height and construction-date thresholds, must provide at least two fire-stairs running from the entrance level to the roof, equipped with fireproof self-closing doors and wire-glass glazing. Every apartment must have horizontal access to at least two fire-stairs, with at least one stair reachable within one hundred feet along the line of travel. Transient or temporarily occupied dwellings with a particular room-layout configuration face slightly different stair-placement and distance rules under the same section.
Plain English — not legal advice.
Property owners and managers subject to N.Y. Mult. Resid. Law § 202 generally maintain at least two code-compliant fire-stairs that run continuously from the entrance story to the roof, fitted with fireproof self-closing doors glazed with wire glass. Compliant operators verify that each stair meets the minimum clear width of three feet eight inches, that each stair has a ground-level exit to a street or an unobstructed path to one, and that no apartment is positioned beyond the horizontal travel distances specified in the section. Buildings used as transient or temporary housing with the room configurations described in subdivision four are subject to the additional stair-placement and distance standards set out in that subdivision, and operators of those buildings typically account for those distinctions when assessing compliance.
General guidance for property managers — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult an attorney for advice on your case.
Under N.Y. Mult. Resid. Law § 202, tenants in qualifying multi-story buildings have a right to accessible, properly equipped fire-stairs that meet the structural and distance standards the law sets out. If fire-stairs appear to be missing, blocked, improperly equipped, or otherwise out of compliance with § 202, tenants can document the conditions and report them to the New York City Department of Buildings or the relevant local code-enforcement authority, depending on the municipality. Tenants may also raise a violation of § 202 as part of a housing court proceeding or reach out to a local tenant-rights organization to understand what enforcement options may be available.
General guidance for tenants — not legal advice for your specific situation. Consult a tenant-rights organization or attorney for advice on your case.
Generated September 13, 2026 — auto-generated, not yet human-reviewed. See /transparency for methodology.
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