When designing, Home Check places stairs, light wells and bathrooms to the requirements above, and the assistant can explain the rule that applies and name the document.
Building codes
Residential building codes
The numbers an architect checks first when laying out a townhouse — with document and clause so you can check them yourself.
Vietnam — detached houses and townhouses
Documents reviewed: 15 Oct 2026
| Item | Requirement | Document · clause |
|---|---|---|
| Stair flight, detached house | Width ≥ 700 mm | TCVN 13967:2024, clause 5.11 |
| Steps | Tread ≥ 250 mm; riser 50–220 mm (preferably ≤ 190 mm); 550 mm ≤ 2h + b ≤ 700 mm | TCVN 13967:2024, clause 5.11 |
| Stairs in a townhouse | Escape stair width ≥ 900 mm; tread ≥ 250 mm, riser ≤ 190 mm | TCVN 9411:2012, clause 6.3.5.1 |
| Headroom over stairs | ≥ 2000 mm, measured vertically from the nosing or landing | TCVN 13967:2024, clause 5.11 |
| Guards on open sides of stairs and landings | Height ≥ 900 mm; gaps ≤ 100 mm | TCVN 13967:2024, clause 5.11 |
| Clear room height | Living rooms ≥ 2600 mm; kitchens and bathrooms ≥ 2300 mm | TCVN 13967:2024, clause 5.9 |
| Wet-area floors | No standing water; fall ≥ 2 % to the drain | TCVN 13967:2024, clause 5.13 |
| Deep townhouses | Deeper than 18 m must provide ventilation and daylight: open court, light well or skylight | TCVN 9411:2012, clause 5.1.2 |
| Walls on the plot boundary | No doors, windows or vents; openings only where the wall is ≥ 2 m from the boundary | TCVN 9411:2012, clause 6.4.3.1 |
| Street-front balconies, townhouse | Projection by street width: under 5 m: none; 5–7 m: 0.5 m; 7–12 m: 0.9 m; 12–15 m: 1.2 m; over 15 m: 1.4 m (1.2 m if the pavement is under 3 m) | TCVN 9411:2012, clause 6.4.4.2, Table 2 |
| Underside of balconies | ≥ 3.5 m above the pavement | TCVN 9411:2012, clause 6.4.4.3 |
| Windows for daylight | Window area 1/8 to 1/5 of floor area (recommended) | TCVN 4451:2012, clause 7.3.3 |
QCVN are mandatory technical regulations; TCVN are voluntary standards unless a law or regulation refers to them. The detailed zoning plan of an area may be stricter — check it before applying for a permit.
Documents referenced
- QCVN 01:2021/BXD
- Construction planning — building coverage, setbacks and heights by plot and street.
- QCVN 06:2022/BXD (Amendment 1:2023)
- Fire safety for buildings — escape routes, stairs, stairwells.
- TCVN 13967:2024
- Detached houses — design requirements: stairs, heights, bathrooms, ventilation.
- TCVN 9411:2012
- Townhouses — design: ventilation of deep houses, boundary walls, balconies.
- TCVN 4451:2012
- Housing — basic design principles: daylight, ventilation, room layout.
How Home Check uses building codes
Codes of other countries: Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan, Hong Kong
Code packs by country, where safety rules can only be stricter, never looser.
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Markdown version of this page Index for machine readers (llms.txt)