Published 12 November 2026
Quick answer: A ramp and a stairlift do different jobs. A ramp gets a wheelchair, scooter or walker over the steps at the door. A stairlift carries a seated person up the stairs inside. In a terraced house the ramp is usually the harder of the two to fit, because two front steps need about 6 metres of ramp and landings, and many terraces do not have that space. Decide which barrier stops you first, then price that one.
Last checked: 12 November 2026. What we checked: Approved Document M Volume 1 (ramp gradients and landings), the English Housing Survey adaptations and accessibility report 2014-15, Blackpool Council’s page on ramps on the public highway, and Acorn’s published stair-width figures. Funding and planning points come from our own guides, each checked against GOV.UK in October and November 2026.
Who this is for: people living in a terraced house, and their families, weighing up a ramp, a stairlift or both.
Two barriers, two answers
| Ramp | Stairlift | |
|---|---|---|
| The barrier it removes | Steps between the pavement and the front or back door | The staircase between floors |
| Who it suits | Wheelchair, powerchair and scooter users; people with a rollator | People who can sit, transfer and walk a few steps at each end |
| Does it carry a wheelchair? | Yes | No. The chair stays downstairs unless you keep a second one upstairs |
| Space it needs | Length outside the house: 12 times the rise, plus landings | Width on the stairs: Acorn says about 66 cm for its straight lift |
| Permission | A permanent ramp at the front of a house in England is likely to need planning permission | Not usually for a house. See our stairlift planning and building regulations guide |
| Typical cost | £60 to £200 for a folding ramp; £1,000 to £2,500 or more for a permanent one | See how much a stairlift costs |
If you use a wheelchair all the time, a stairlift alone does not solve the stairs. A home lift or living on the ground floor are the options that do.
Why the ramp is the hard part in a terrace
Approved Document M, the official design guidance for access to homes in England, gives a steepest gradient of 1 in 12 for a ramp flight up to 5 metres long and 1 in 15 for a flight up to 10 metres. It asks for a landing at least 1.2 metres long at the top and bottom, and a clear width of 900 mm.
| Rise from path to door sill | Ramp length at 1 in 12 | With a 1.2 m landing top and bottom |
|---|---|---|
| 150 mm (one step) | 1.8 m | 4.2 m |
| 300 mm (two steps) | 3.6 m | 6.0 m |
| 450 mm (three steps) | 5.4 m, which is over the 5 m limit, so 6.75 m at 1 in 15 | 9.15 m |
A 300 mm rise, two ordinary steps, needs 3.6 m of ramp at 1 in 12 and two 1.2 m landings: 6 m in all. A detached house with a drive can usually find that. A terrace with a short front yard often cannot, and a ramp that doubles back on itself needs width as well as length. Our ramp length calculator does the sum for any rise.
The national figures show the same thing. The English Housing Survey found level access to the entrance in 18% of homes. It judged half of terraced houses not feasible to make fully accessible to a visiting wheelchair user, against 15% of semi-detached and 14% of detached houses. Its glossary notes that a ramp is sometimes physically impossible to install.
If the door opens onto the pavement
The pavement is public highway. You cannot build on it without the highway authority’s agreement. Blackpool Council, for one, says a ramp on the highway needs permission through its planning and traffic teams, and adds: “In the first instance internal changes should be considered”. Ask your own council before paying a builder.
Where a fixed ramp will not fit, these are the usual alternatives:
- A folding ramp put down by a helper. It can be steeper than 1 in 12 because someone is pushing, but the maker sets the limit. See the portable ramps we checked against their makers’ documents.
- A threshold ramp for a single low sill. See threshold ramps.
- The back door. A rear yard or alley sometimes has a smaller rise and room for a modular ramp.
- A short-rise platform lift beside the steps, which needs far less length than a ramp. Several lift companies in our directory fit them.
Will a stairlift fit a terrace staircase?
Usually, but it has to be measured. Acorn says its 130 straight stairlift needs about 66 cm of stair width and its 180 curved lift about 70 cm. Other makers’ figures differ. Terrace stairs that run straight between two walls take a straight rail, which is the cheaper kind. Stairs with a turn or winder steps at the top or bottom need a curved rail made to measure.
The English Housing Survey found that 24% of homes had straight stairs with landings more than 900 mm wide, the layout it treats as ready for a stairlift. The rest are not ruled out. They are the homes where a survey decides it. Our guide to stairlifts for narrow stairs lists the makers’ published widths, and the home survey guide explains the visit.
A worked example
This is an illustration we made up to show the reasoning. It is not a real household.
A mid-terrace has two steps up to the front door, a rise of 300 mm, with a front yard 2 metres deep. Inside, a straight staircase 75 cm wide runs up between two walls. The person living there walks indoors with a stick and uses a scooter outdoors.
- The stairs: 75 cm is wider than the 66 cm Acorn gives for its straight lift, so a straight stairlift is likely to fit, subject to survey.
- The front steps: a ramp to guidance needs 6 m and the yard is 2 m deep. A straight fixed ramp will not fit. One that doubles back along the front of the house needs about 4.2 m of frontage by our arithmetic (two 1.8 m flights and two landings), would take up nearly the whole yard, and is likely to need planning permission.
- What is left: rails at the steps for walking in, with the scooter kept in a store at the front, or access through the back if the rise there is smaller.
In this example the stairlift is the simple job and the door is the one that needs the council’s occupational therapist.
Which to do first
| Your situation | Start with |
|---|---|
| You walk indoors, the stairs are the struggle, the front steps are manageable with a rail | Stairlift. Ask for grab rails at the door at the same time |
| You use a wheelchair or scooter outdoors and cannot get it in or out | The door: ramp, platform lift or rear access |
| You use a wheelchair indoors as well | The door first, then a home lift or ground-floor living. A stairlift is unlikely to be enough |
| Both barriers stop you now | A council assessment before buying either, so the two are planned together |
| The need is short term, after an operation | A folding ramp and stairlift rental |
Who pays
- Small jobs. In England, councils must not charge for minor adaptations costing £1,000 or less when they meet an assessed need. Rails and a small ramp often fall within that. See getting equipment free from the council.
- Bigger jobs. A Disabled Facilities Grant can cover a ramp, a stairlift or both. It is means-tested for adults and capped at £30,000 in England. Do not start work before the council approves it. See the Disabled Facilities Grant guide.
- If you rent. You need the landlord’s consent for fixed work. See home adaptations when you rent.
- Everything else. The funding finder checks the schemes for your nation.
What to do next
- Measure the rise from the path to the door sill, and the depth of the space in front of the door.
- Measure the stair width at its narrowest point, wall to wall or wall to banister.
- Ask adult social care at your council for an occupational therapy assessment.
- For a permanent ramp, read the planning and building regulations rules for ramps and the ramp cost guide.
- For a stairlift, get two or three written quotes from firms in our list of UK stairlift companies, and check any quote with the mobility quote checker.
This is general information, not planning, building or medical advice. Approved Document M applies in England; Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own rules. If a figure here is out of date, email hello@reviewmobility.co.uk.
Frequently asked questions
Is a ramp cheaper than a stairlift?
Usually, but they are not substitutes. A ramp deals with steps outside and a stairlift with the stairs inside. Compare each with the other ways of solving the same barrier.
How long does a ramp need to be for two steps?
For a 300 mm rise, 3.6 m at a gradient of 1 in 12. With a 1.2 m landing at the top and bottom, allow 6 m.
Can I put a ramp on the pavement outside my terraced house?
Not without the highway authority’s permission. Ask your council’s highways and planning teams before paying for any work.
Will a stairlift fit on narrow terrace stairs?
Often. Acorn says its straight stairlift needs about 66 cm of width. A company survey will measure your stairs and tell you.
Can a wheelchair user manage with a stairlift?
Only if they can transfer to the seat and have a second wheelchair upstairs. Full-time wheelchair users are usually better served by a home lift or ground-floor living.
Sources
- Approved Document M: access to and use of buildings, Volume 1 – GOV.UK, paragraph 1.7, checked 7 November 2026
- English Housing Survey: adaptations and accessibility report 2014-15 – Department for Communities and Local Government, accessed 12 November 2026
- Ramps – Blackpool Council, accessed 12 November 2026
- Stairlifts for narrow stairs – Review Mobility, Acorn figures read 27 October 2026
- Wheelchair ramps at home: the rules – Review Mobility, checked 7 November 2026
- Wheelchair ramp costs – Review Mobility
Published 12 November 2026