Do townhouses have the same fire safety requirements as apartment buildings?

NSW

Maintenance & Common Property

Do townhouses need to meet the same fire safety standards as apartment buildings?

I'm looking at purchasing a townhouse which is under a strata scheme. The building was built in 1994.

Do townhouses need to meet the same fire safety standards as apartment buildings with regards to fire safety doors, fire hydrants etc.?

Would a building built in 1994 generally meet the fire safety standards? I know older buildings tend to have issues.

Townhouses are a different classification to an apartment buildings

Every multi-occupancy building post-1988 should require an annual fire safety statement. Every residential occupancy should have a working smoke alarm.

Townhouses are a different classification to an apartment; require fire safety systems, but generally require less than an apartment building.

It is impossible to state whether a townhouse generally meets the fire safety standards without having inspected it, but further to the above, the fire safety systems are generally fewer than the equivalent apartment building & therefore there is less to go wrong. That said, due to the lesser requirements, there is lesser chance the systems in a townhouse have been maintained.

To summarise – how long is a piece of string?

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Published: 1 Apr 2026

Last Updated: 7 Jul 2026

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Answer by

Rob Broadhead

2020 Fire Protection

Rob Broadhead, CEO of 2020 Fire Protection.

I've been involved in strata since 2001, spoken at events, written training courses and been involved in committees. I am a regular contributor to SCA, FMA, OCN, LookUpStrata and Your Strata Property.

I’ve been in fire protection since 1992, a graduate of the Institute of Fire Engineers and an Accredited Practitioner (Fire Safety).

I’ve served voluntarily as VP of FPA Australia and on SCA’s NSW State Committee. I've represented FMA on the Building Commission’s Fire Safety Steering committee, and listed in the 2021 report into Fire Safety Reform. I am co-chair of the Strata sector of the Fire Safety Industry Reference Group.

I bring timely fire and related legislative knowledge transparently to the strata industry.