Lift maintenance contracts: what’s included and what affects the cost

In short: a lift maintenance contract pays a lift company to service your lift on a regular schedule and to come out when it breaks down. A good contract sets out how often the engineer visits, what each visit covers, how breakdowns are handled, how parts are charged and how you can end it. How often a lift needs servicing depends on the lift, how busy it is and what you need from it: anything from once to twelve times a year.

This guide is for building owners, managing agents and facilities teams in the UK. It explains what a lift maintenance contract should include, what affects the cost, and what to check before you sign, based on how we run contracts across Essex, London and the South East.

Do you have to have a lift maintenance contract?

The law doesn’t require a contract as such, but it does require the lift to be looked after:

• PUWER 1998 (the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations) says equipment used at work must be maintained in an efficient state and in good repair.
• LOLER 1998 (the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations) says lifts that carry people need a thorough examination by a competent person, normally at least every six months.

For most buildings, a maintenance contract is the practical way to meet both. The HSE’s guidance on lifting equipment at work explains the duties.

What our maintenance contracts include

• Planned service visits. The engineer checks, cleans, lubricates and adjusts the lift, and records each visit in the logbook.
• Breakdown call-outs. If the lift breaks down, we come out. Contract customers can reach us 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Our lift breakdown guide explains what to do while you wait.
• An alarm line to us. The emergency phone in the lift car comes straight through to us, so anyone trapped can reach us directly.
• Help with LOLER. We arrange LOLER thorough examinations, carried out by an independent examiner, so every examination stays impartial. We then put right the defects the report lists.

Parts are charged separately. When a part needs replacing, we quote for it first, so you know the cost before any work goes ahead. See our lift maintenance page for the lifts we look after.

What happens on a lift service visit

Each visit under a lift maintenance contract follows a checklist suited to the lift. Typically the engineer will:

• Check the doors: door locks and contacts, the safety edge, door gear and the sills, and clear any debris from the tracks.
• Test the controls: car and landing buttons, indicators and the floor display.
• Test the alarm and the emergency phone, and check the emergency lighting in the car.
• Check how the lift runs: levelling at each floor, smooth starts and stops, and any unusual noise.
• On traction lifts, check the brakes, the ropes or belts and the drive wheel.
• On hydraulic lifts, check the oil level and look for leaks.
• Check the controller and machine room or control cabinet, and the lift pit, and keep them clean.
• Record the visit in the logbook, with anything found and anything that needs attention.

Maintenance, repairs, LOLER and modernisation: what’s the difference?

• Maintenance is the planned servicing that keeps the lift reliable. It is what a lift maintenance contract covers.
• Repairs fix something that has failed or worn out. On our contracts, call-outs are part of the contract and parts are quoted separately.
• LOLER thorough examinations check the lift is safe to use. They are a legal requirement for lifts used at work, carried out by an independent examiner. We arrange them and put right the defects they find.
• Modernisation replaces major parts of an ageing lift, such as the controller, drive or doors, to bring it up to date. It is a separate project with its own quote.

How often should a lift be serviced?

There is no single answer. On our contracts it ranges from once to twelve times a year, depending on:

• The type of lift. A busy passenger lift needs more attention than a platform lift used a few times a day.
• How much it’s used. Office, hotel and residential lifts that run all day wear faster.
• Age and condition. Older lifts often need more frequent visits to stay reliable.
• What you need from it. Some customers want more visits for peace of mind, for example where residents depend on the lift.

We agree the number of visits with you after surveying the lift. (LOLER examinations are separate from service visits and are normally every six months for lifts that carry people.)

What affects the cost of a lift maintenance contract

We don’t publish fixed prices, because two lifts are rarely the same. These are the things that change the price:

• Type of lift: passenger, goods, platform, service lift or dumbwaiter.
• Size of the installation: the number of floors served and the number of lifts on site.
• Number of visits a year: from one to twelve.
• Age and condition: older lifts or ones with known problems take longer to service.
• Usage: how busy the lift is.
• Location and access: how easy the site and machine room are to reach.

Parts are quoted separately, so the contract price covers the visits and the call-out service, not the cost of parts.

The fastest way to a firm price is a survey. We offer a free lift survey and quote.

What to check before you sign any lift maintenance contract

Some contracts are written to keep you tied in. Before you sign with anyone, including us, check:

• Length and notice period. How long is the minimum term, and how much notice must you give to leave?
• Automatic renewal. Does it roll over for another long term unless you cancel in a narrow window? Put the date in your diary.
• Visits. How many visits a year, and what is checked on each?
• Call-outs. Are breakdown call-outs part of the contract, and can you reach someone 24/7?
• Parts. Are parts included or charged separately, and will you get a quote before work starts?
• LOLER. Who arranges the thorough examination, and who fixes the defects it finds?
• Paperwork. Will you get visit records, and will the logbook and examination reports stay with the building if you change company?

Signs your current lift maintenance contract isn’t working

• The same fault keeps coming back.
• Defects on your LOLER report are still open after their due dates.
• The logbook is empty, or doesn’t show regular visits.
• You can’t get hold of anyone when the lift breaks down out of hours.
• Every repair arrives as a surprise bill, without a quote first.

If several of these sound familiar, it may be worth a survey and a second opinion on your lift maintenance contract. We offer a free lift survey and quote.

Your responsibilities as a building owner or manager

A lift maintenance contract doesn’t hand over every duty. You still need to:

• Keep the paperwork: the logbook, service records and LOLER thorough examination reports.
• Act on defects listed in examination reports, by the dates given.
• Report faults promptly, and keep the lift out of use when it isn’t safe.
• Keep access clear: the machine room or control cabinet is not a storage space.
• Tell your lift company about changes, such as heavier use, a change of building use, or building work near the lift.
• Make sure the alarm is answered, so anyone trapped can always reach help.

Lift maintenance contracts for different buildings

• Blocks of flats: residents depend on the lift, so reliability and quick call-outs matter most.
• Offices and shops: busy lifts often need more frequent visits to stay reliable.
• Hotels: guests notice a broken lift straight away, so visits are often planned around quieter times.
• Pubs and restaurants: dumbwaiters and goods lifts carry food and stock every day; see our dumbwaiter repairs page.
• Platform lifts: often used by one person who relies on them, so a breakdown can stop someone getting in or out.

Switching lift maintenance company

You can change company when your current contract allows. We maintain all makes of lift, and we regularly take over lifts from other maintenance companies. The usual steps:

1. Check your current contract for the notice period and end date, and give notice in writing.
2. Book a survey. We survey the lift so we know its condition before we take it on.
3. Collect the paperwork: the logbook, the latest LOLER thorough examination reports and any records of recent repairs.
4. Agree a start date, so the lift isn’t left without cover.

Questions people ask