Architects, Interior designers and homeowners sometimes insist that they do not want a balustrade on a main entrance feature staircase because of aesthetic reasons. Is this allowed and legal? This is most certainly not legal. South Africa’s building regulations clearly state that for a drop of more than 1000mm, a balustrade is required to prevent someone from falling. While Steel Studio’s Sales representatives frequently get asked this question, we inform the relevant parties of the regulations in terms of the South African National Standards (SANS) that this is not legal. No ethical Building Inspector will issue an occupation certificate for a building should a staircase of more than 1000mm high, not have a balustrade fitted. As the balustrade specialist, in terms of the law, a Professional Engineers certificate is required to be handed to the building inspector prior to occupation being granted. We can assure you that we will not be able to provide this certificate under these circumstances. The risk will surely fall with the relevant party who issued this instruction and will be held liable should an accident happen in the future. This is extremely dangerous and irresponsible and Steel Studio will not entertain this type of request. Unfortunately we are aware of projects where the balustrades to the feature staircase were removed once the Occupation Certificate was issued. Let’s hope an accident never happens where this has been the case.