Contractors have been urged to look out for new guidance on keeping homes safe from fire.

An updated British Standard will be published on 27 November that will, three days later, supersede the current version.

BS 9991:2024, ‘Fire safety in the design, management and use of residential buildings’, was finalised following a consultation period that drew in some 1,800 comments.

The fresh guidance has a section on designing for construction, including passages on minimum levels of recommended fire resistance for elements of the building structure.

Other topics touched on by the new standard include compartmentation; external fire spread and building separation; and fire performance for external wall surfaces.

Changes from the previous document, which is nine years old, include the introduction of a recommended 18m height limit for single-stair buildings, as well as expanded guidance on evacuation lifts.

Scott Steedman, director-general of standards at the British Standards Institution (BSI), said the 2017 Grenfell Tower blaze in London, and the subsequent inquiry report into the tragedy, had “brought the issue of building safety into focus”.

“It is critical that we ensure all standards reflect the latest evidence,” he said.

“The updated BS 9991 guides the design, installation and maintenance of fire-safety systems in residential buildings, ensuring that effective escape routes and fire-safety measures are in place to protect occupants and enhance overall safety.

“This new edition has been fully revised, taking into account extensive changes within industry and the increased focus on robust fire-safety measures.”

A BSI spokesperson added that the revised standard would “impact contractors involved in all stages of residential construction and refurbishment projects”.

He said such firms should “familiarise themselves with the updated guidance to ensure compliance and best practice”.

The second-phase Grenfell Tower Inquiry report by chair Sir Martin Moore-Bick in September made a series of recommendations to the government that would overhaul several elements of the way the construction industry works.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves in October used her Autumn Budget speech to announce more than £1bn of funding for cladding remediation.

Safety chiefs this month warned that instances of clumsy cladding remediation work were leaving critical building fire-response systems unable to function.