What type of access stair or ladder is allowed for lofts depends on whether it's a habitable or non-habitable loft. If a mattress will fit it will probably be considered habitable, no matter what you tell the building inspector, and will require specific stair or ladder types, railing and even an automatic fire sprinkler system (R329.5 or NFPA 13D). The design shown here is for non-habitable storage lofts based on typical pull down attic stairs. The rollers at the bottom allow the stair to be rolled into a storage closet or out of the way when not in use.

The typical cost of a fire sprinkler system is causing a lot of sleepless nights for tiny house designers. If your tiny house costs $150.00 per square foot to build it might be cheaper to add 30 square feet for a stairwell to a low headroom second floor than pay $4,500.00 (quesstimate) for a sprinkler system.