Taking on a building with lifts.

Find, check, act.

Taking on a building with lifts means taking on their records and the arrangements around them: who maintains each lift, who examines it, who answers its alarm and who holds its keys. As the dutyholder or their manager, you need to know all of it. Where a lift is used at work, PUWER requires it to be “maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair”, and LOLER requires regular thorough examinations. In a block of flats, HSE says LOLER does not strictly apply, but following it will probably meet the duties that do.

1. 01

   Find the records

   Collect the latest thorough examination report, the maintenance agreement, the service history and the technical documents for each lift, and put copies in one place.

2. 02

   Check the arrangements

   Confirm who examines and maintains each lift, when its next examination is due, who answers its alarm calls and who holds its keys.

3. 03

   Act on what you find

   Put right anything outstanding, starting with defects on the latest report and any examination that is due or overdue.

The checklist at the end of this lesson covers all three steps. If you are not sure who holds which duties for the lifts, start with who is responsible for a lift.

Start with a list of the lifts.

Write down every lift in the building, including platform lifts, goods lifts and service lifts, with where each one is and how it is identified. Each thorough examination report must give “particulars sufficient to identify the lifting equipment”, so use the same name or number as the report, and ask your contractor to use it too.

Note any lift with special features, such as a firefighting lift or an evacuation lift. LEIA’s code of practice asks owners to tell their maintenance contractor about features like these. In a block of flats in England that is at least 18 m high or has at least seven storeys, the responsible person must check lifts for use by firefighters and evacuation lifts every month, record the checks and make the record available to residents. Our lesson on fire safety duties for lifts explains the rest.

Find the records.

A lift’s records are rarely all in one place. Some are with your maintenance contractor, some with the competent person who examines the lift, and some should already be in the building. Gather copies of all of them into one file for each lift.

The thorough examination reports

Start with the latest thorough examination report for each lift. It must give “the latest date by which the next thorough examination must be carried out”, and it lists any defect that is or could become a danger, with what is needed to put it right. Our lesson on how to read a LOLER report goes through it section by section.

Keep each periodic report until the next one is made, or for two years, whichever is later. If the lift has a report of its examination after installation, keep it for as long as the lift is used where it was installed. If it came with a declaration of conformity, keep that for as long as you operate the lift.

The maintenance records

Ask your maintenance contractor for the service history, including breakdowns and repairs, and for copies of any supplementary test reports. LEIA’s code of practice expects the contractor to give you a record of its maintenance work, and expects you to keep it.

The responsible person in LEIA’s code is usually the lift’s owner or dutyholder. The same code says the owner’s instruction manual is the owner’s property, and that at the end of an agreement documents, drawings, special tools and software access codes go back to the owner, to be kept for the next contractor.

If something is missing

In our experience, records often go missing when a building changes hands or changes managing agent. Ask the previous manager, your maintenance contractor and the competent person for copies. Where the manufacturer’s documents have been lost, LEIA’s code asks owners to try to get replacements from the original manufacturer. Our compliance resources list the documents to keep for each lift.

Check the arrangements.

Records show what has happened. These checks show whether the arrangements for what happens next are in place.

Act on what you find.

1. 01

   Defects on the latest report

   Agree the repairs with your contractor and the date each will be done. Once the competent person has notified a defect that is a danger, the lift must not be used until it is put right. For a defect that could become a danger later, the report gives the time by which it must be fixed.

2. 02

   An examination that is due, overdue or missing

   Contact the competent person now to arrange it. If nobody examines the lifts, appoint a competent person: choosing the competent person explains what to look for.

3. 03

   A lift your contractor has taken out of service

   Keep it out of service until it has been made safe. LEIA’s code says the responsible person “should not reinstate the plant until sufficient measures have been taken to allow the plant to be returned to service”.

4. 04

   A contract that does not suit the building

   Plan a renewal, a tender or a change of contractor. Our tender checklist helps you compare offers like for like, and our page on switching lift maintenance provider explains how a handover works.

5. 05

   One file for each lift

   Keep copies of every record in one file for each lift, and start a lift logbook so its history stays in one place from now on.

Your checklist.

Tick each item as you go, then print the checklist or save it as a PDF. The ticks are not saved anywhere: they last until you close or reload the page.

Check your understanding.

Three quick questions on this lesson. Choose an answer to check it, or open the answer below each question.

1. Your maintenance contractor keeps the lift’s wiring diagrams in its office. Who do they belong to?

   1. The maintenance contractor
   2. The lift’s owner, the responsible person
   3. The lift manufacturer
   Show the answer

   B. The lift’s owner, the responsible person. LEIA’s code of practice says wiring diagrams and technical information are the property of the responsible person, usually the owner or dutyholder, and not the maintenance company.

2. The latest report lists a defect that the competent person says is a danger, and must be put right before the lift is used. What should happen?

   1. The lift can carry on in service until the next maintenance visit
   2. The lift must not be used until the defect is put right
   3. The lift can be used if a warning notice is put up
   Show the answer

   B. The lift must not be used until the defect is put right. Under LOLER, once the competent person has notified a dangerous defect, the dutyholder must make sure the lift is not used until the defect is rectified.

3. Who should be given a landing door unlocking key?

   1. Anyone on the building staff who might need it
   2. Only trained and authorised people
   3. The cleaners, so they can reach the lift car
   Show the answer

   B. Only trained and authorised people. An unlocked landing door with no car behind it is a serious hazard. LEIA’s code of practice says the key should be made available only to trained and authorised people.

Sources.

The primary sources for this lesson. We checked them when the lesson was last updated on 18 October 2026. How we research and check our lessons.

1. The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 9legislation.gov.uk. Thorough examination before first use, after installation and at regular intervals.
2. LOLER 1998, regulations 10 and 11legislation.gov.uk. Defects, reports and how long to keep them (regulation 11 follows on the same site).
3. LOLER 1998, Schedule 1legislation.gov.uk. What a thorough examination report must contain, including the latest date for the next examination.
4. The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998, regulation 5legislation.gov.uk. The duty to keep work equipment, including lifts, maintained.
5. L113: Safe use of lifting equipmentHealth and Safety Executive. Approved Code of Practice and guidance on LOLER, including how it applies to lifts in blocks of flats.
6. LM01: Maintenance requirement for lifts, lifting platforms, escalators and moving walksLift and Escalator Industry Association. Industry code of practice (2013). Section 5 sets out the responsible person’s part, including records, keys and the end of an agreement.
7. The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022, regulation 7legislation.gov.uk. Monthly checks of lifts for use by firefighters and evacuation lifts in high-rise residential buildings.