Passenger lift regulations.

No single lift law.

There is no single law for lifts in the UK. Which rules apply depends on the stage of the lift’s life, the kind of building it serves and who uses it. Some rules apply to buildings, some to new lifts, and some to the people responsible for lifts once they are in use.

This lesson maps the main laws for England, then explains where the rest of the UK differs. The other lessons in this course look at each area in more depth.

Designing and building work.

Building work, such as putting up a new building or altering an existing one, must meet the Building Regulations 2010. Two of their requirements matter most for lifts. Requirement M1 covers access to and use of buildings other than dwellings, with requirement M4 doing the same for dwellings. Requirement B5 covers facilities to help firefighters.

The government’s Approved Documents explain how to meet these requirements in common situations. Approved Document M, in its volume for buildings other than dwellings, treats a passenger lift as the most suitable way to move between storeys and sets minimum car sizes, door widths and control heights. Our lesson on accessible lifts and the law covers them.

Approved Document B sets out when a building needs a firefighting lift. In buildings other than dwellings, it also says when a lift well should be enclosed in fire-resisting construction, for example where it could affect an escape route, and when it should form a protected shaft because it connects two fire compartments.

Approved Documents are guidance, and designers can meet the requirements in other ways. The ones described here apply in England. Wales publishes its own approved documents, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own building regulations.

Installing a new lift.

A new lift must meet the Lifts Regulations 2016, which came into force on 8 December 2016. They apply to lifts that permanently serve buildings and constructions, and to the safety components used in them, such as landing door locks, overspeed governors and buffers.

The essential health and safety requirements are set out in Schedule 1 of the regulations. They deal with risks such as overloading, overspeed, falls into the shaft and people being trapped. Before the lift is placed on the market, the installer must have a conformity assessment carried out, draw up a declaration of conformity to go with the lift, and mark it with the UKCA or CE marking.

Every new lift must also come with instructions, including the plans and diagrams needed for normal use, maintenance, inspection, repair, periodic checks and rescue, and a logbook for recording repairs and periodic checks. Ask for these documents at handover and keep them with the lift’s records.

Lifts that move at 0.15 metres per second or slower are outside the Lifts Regulations. Platform lifts are in this group, so they are supplied under the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008 instead.

Standards for new lifts

Standards such as BS EN 81-20 and BS EN 81-50 set out detailed ways of meeting the essential requirements. They are not compulsory. But where the government has designated a standard, as it has these two, a lift built to it is presumed to meet the requirements the standard covers. Our lesson on EN 81 standards explains the family.

Before the lift is first used

HSE’s guidance says a new lift does not need a thorough examination before it is first used, provided it was made and installed under the Lifts Regulations and has a declaration of conformity made no more than a year earlier. HSE treats a lift as new where none existed before, where an old lift has been completely replaced, or where only the guide rails and their fixings have been kept.

Using and maintaining a lift.

Once a lift is in service, workplace health and safety law applies wherever it is used for work. These are the main laws in Great Britain.

• Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. Employers must protect their employees, and other people affected by their work, so far as is reasonably practicable. Anyone who controls non-domestic premises, or plant in them such as a lift, must take reasonable measures to make them safe for people who work there but are not their employees. A contract or tenancy that makes someone responsible for maintenance or repair counts as control, as far as that obligation goes.
• Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Employers must make a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to their employees and to other people affected by their work, and review it after significant changes.
• PUWER 1998. A lift used at work must be suitable for its purpose, and maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair.
• LOLER 1998. Lifts used at work must be thoroughly examined by a competent person: at least every 6 months if they carry people and every 12 months if they carry only goods, unless a competent person’s examination scheme specifies other intervals, and after exceptional circumstances such as damage. The examiner reports defects, and a lift with a dangerous defect must not be used until it is put right.
• RIDDOR 2013. The collapse or failure of a load-bearing part of a lift is a dangerous occurrence, which the business in control of the premises must report, along with certain injuries.

Our guide to LOLER explains thorough examinations in more detail, and our lesson on how to read a LOLER report covers what to do with the findings. Our compliance resources list the documents to keep for each lift.

Lifts in blocks of flats and public buildings

LOLER and PUWER apply to equipment provided for use at work. HSE’s guidance says a passenger lift in a block of flats is not work equipment, because it is mainly for the residents.

LOLER may not apply either to a lift used mainly by the public, such as one in a shopping centre. Whoever runs or controls it as part of a business still has duties under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. HSE says that “a similar regime of maintenance, inspection and examination to that required under LOLER and PUWER may be entirely ‘reasonably practicable’”.

So whichever law applies, the safe course is to maintain a lift and have it thoroughly examined as if LOLER applied. Our lesson on who is responsible for a lift explains who holds these duties in different buildings.

Fire, building safety and access.

Three more areas of law apply to many buildings with lifts.

• Fire safety. In England and Wales, the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to workplaces and to the shared parts of blocks of flats. The responsible person must carry out a fire risk assessment and keep facilities for firefighters, such as firefighting lifts, maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair. In England, the Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 add duties for blocks of flats, including monthly checks of firefighting and evacuation lifts in high-rise residential buildings.
• Building safety. In England, the Building Safety Act 2022 created a regime for higher-risk buildings: buildings at least 18 metres high or with at least 7 storeys that contain at least two residential units. They must be registered, and their accountable persons must assess and manage the risks of fire spreading and of structural failure.
• Equality. In England, Wales and Scotland, the Equality Act 2010 requires service providers and others to make reasonable adjustments for disabled people. These can include changes to physical features, such as a building’s lifts, although landlords of let premises are never required to remove or alter a physical feature.

Our lessons on fire safety duties for lifts and accessible lifts and the law cover these in more detail.

Laws, guidance and standards.

Lift rules come in layers, and they do not all carry the same weight.

Our health and safety page sets out the regulations and standards we work to on site.

England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Much lift law applies across Great Britain, but not all of it, and Northern Ireland has its own versions of several laws.

• Building regulations are devolved. Wales publishes its own approved documents. Scotland has the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004, and Northern Ireland has the Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012.
• The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies in England and Wales. In Scotland, the fire safety duties are in Part 3 of the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, and Northern Ireland has the Fire Safety Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2010.
• The Fire Safety (England) Regulations 2022 and the higher-risk building regime of the Building Safety Act 2022 apply in England only.
• The Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, LOLER and PUWER apply in Great Britain. Northern Ireland has its own versions, such as the Health and Safety at Work (Northern Ireland) Order 1978 and the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999.
• The Equality Act 2010 applies in England, Wales and Scotland. In Northern Ireland, the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 still applies.
• The Lifts Regulations 2016 apply across the UK, with some differences in Northern Ireland, such as which standards give a presumption of conformity.

Check your understanding.

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

1. Which regulations require lifts used at work to be thoroughly examined by a competent person?

   1. The Lifts Regulations 2016
   2. LOLER 1998
   3. The Building Regulations 2010
   Show the answer

   B. LOLER 1998. LOLER requires lifting equipment used at work, including lifts, to be thoroughly examined by a competent person. The Lifts Regulations cover new lifts before they are placed on the market, and the Building Regulations cover building work.

2. A new platform lift moves at 0.15 metres per second. Which regulations cover its supply?

   1. The Lifts Regulations 2016
   2. The Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008
   3. None: platform lifts are not regulated
   Show the answer

   B. The Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008. The Lifts Regulations do not apply to lifting appliances whose speed is not greater than 0.15 m/s. Lifts at that speed or slower are machinery, covered by the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008.

3. Does an installer have to follow BS EN 81-20?

   1. Yes, it is the law
   2. No, but a lift built to it is presumed to meet the requirements it covers
   3. Only for lifts in blocks of flats
   Show the answer

   B. No, but a lift built to it is presumed to meet the requirements it covers. The Lifts Regulations 2016 set the legal requirements. BS EN 81-20 is a designated standard, so a lift built to it is presumed to meet the requirements it covers, but an installer can show compliance in other ways.

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 Lifts Regulations 2016legislation.gov.uk. Requirements for new lifts and their safety components.
2. The Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008legislation.gov.uk. Covers lifts moving at 0.15 m/s or slower, such as platform lifts.
3. The Building Regulations 2010, Schedule 1legislation.gov.uk. Requirements B5, M1 and M4.
4. Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974legislation.gov.uk. General duties of employers and of people in control of premises.
5. The Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998legislation.gov.uk. Thorough examination of lifts used at work.
6. The Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998legislation.gov.uk. Suitability and maintenance of work equipment.
7. Safe use of lifting equipment (L113)Health and Safety Executive. The Approved Code of Practice for LOLER, including lifts in blocks of flats.
8. Passenger lifts and escalatorsHealth and Safety Executive. Which regulations apply to lifts, including lifts not used at work.
9. Thorough examination and testing of lifts (INDG339)Health and Safety Executive. When new and existing lifts need a thorough examination.
10. Access to and use of buildings: Approved Document MGOV.UK. Guidance on passenger lifts and platform lifts in England.
11. Fire safety: Approved Document BGOV.UK. Guidance on firefighting lifts and lift wells in England.
12. Building Safety Act 2022, Part 4legislation.gov.uk. Higher-risk buildings and accountable persons.