Darryl Cope, UK Consumer Operations Director at Stiltz Homelifts, shares how housebuilders can achieve M4 compliance efficiently, without compromising build programmes, design flexibility or delivery performance.
UK Housebuilders are currently facing two key challenges. Firstly, how planning authorities are increasingly mandating M4(2) Accessible and Adaptable Dwellings and M4(3) Wheelchair User Dwellings as standard requirements for new residential developments.
Secondly, addressing the specifications tied to these requirements during technical design stage. This means accessibility must be considered at build stage and be compliant with Approved Document M, before practical completion.
Having spent more than 25 years working across the volume housebuilding sector, firstly as a joiner through to operational leadership roles with some of the UK’s largest national housebuilders, I understand the pressures site teams, technical departments and delivery programmes operate under.
The challenge they face is finding workable solutions without introducing complexity, structural compromise or programme risk. This is where specialist specification plays an increasingly important role.
Stiltz Homelifts has developed a structured, proven proposition for new homes that factors in realities of modern residential delivery. The Trio+ Homelift has been designed specifically to address vertical circulation requirements under both M4(2) and M4(3) categories, integrating into a mainstream housebuilding process rather than disrupting it.
With a floor opening requirement of just 1280mm x 1047mm, Trio+ is one of the most compact wheelchair-accessible, domestic lift solutions available. Because the system is fully self-supporting via dual vertical rails fixed to the floor and ceiling, no load-bearing walls are needed, no structural steelwork, machine rooms or shaft construction either. The lift operates using a standard 13-amp socket.
A variant of Trio+ is the ThruCar model. This offers design flexibility enabling entry and exit from opposite sides across different floors, opening up opportunities across a wider range of home configurations. For housebuilders, the operational impact is small, with a homelift installation completed within one day on a live build.
For wheelchair-accessible M4(3)(2)(b) homes, the lift can be installed as a permanent fixture during construction. For M4(2) and adaptable M4(3) schemes, the solution can be designed as a prepared void with pre-positioned support and power socket, making it ready for activation when required.
Stiltz already delivers at scale with several leading UK housebuilders, across multiple regions, with a growing number of plots installed and delivered to programme. Alongside installation, our people provide technical drawings, CAD support, structural interface guidance, building control documentation and coordinated site delivery, creating a single, accountable compliance route.
Globally, Stiltz has installed 40,000+ homelifts across over 50 countries since 2010. Our experience translates into robust infrastructure, proven delivery capability, and a practical understanding of how to deliver accessibility efficiently in modern housebuilding.
As accessibility requirements continue to evolve, opportunities are created for housebuilders to approach compliance as a design decision which delivers homes fit for now and for the future.
For further information, to request our M4 specification pack or to book a technical meeting with our Housebuild Team call 0808 291 1719 or visit stiltz.co.uk/housebuilders
