A stairway has a handrail on one side that stops short of the bottom tread. Why is this reported?

A handrail is a fall-arrest device that only works if the hand can stay on it through the whole descent. The most dangerous moments on a stair are the first step down, when the user commits their weight, and the last step, when they expect the floor and may be a tread short. A rail that stops before the bottom tread releases the user's hand at exactly the second of those moments. That is why continuity over the full flight is the requirement — not the presence of a rail somewhere along the stairs. The inspector reports the discontinuity as a safety item, and continuity sits alongside height, graspable profile and secure attachment as the standard checks on any stairway.

A handrail must be continuous over the full flight so the user's hand stays supported through every tread, including the last one. A rail ending short releases the hand precisely where a misstep is most likely, so the discontinuity is reported as a safety item.

Stairway handrails are expected to be continuous for the length of the flight, graspable, mounted within a specified height range above the nosings, and securely attached. Home inspectors report deficiencies in any of these as safety items.

The Hand Never Lets Go — top nosing to bottom nosing. A rail that quits early quits at the step people miss.

Report the safety consequence rather than citing a specific code section. Requirements differ by jurisdiction and vintage, and the exam rewards the hazard framing.

• •Claiming a universal code prohibition rather than reporting the hazard
• •Treating rail continuity as a finish or maintenance detail
• •Confirming a rail exists without checking that it runs the full flight