Who Is Responsible for the Safe Operation of Lifts in an Apartment Building?
A lift is a piece of equipment that almost everyone in an apartment building uses daily, from children to seniors. As long as it runs reliably, nobody asks who is responsible for it. That question comes up only when something happens. A breakdown, trapped passengers, an injury or an insurance claim. And the answer surprises many apartment owners.
The responsibility is not borne by the service company that “takes care of” the lift, nor by the technical inspector who checks it. It is borne by the operator of the lift, which means the association of apartment owners (SVB) or the building manager. The safe operation of lifts in an apartment building is their legal duty.
What does the law say?
Obligations related to the operation of technical equipment are imposed on employers by Act No. 124/2006 Coll. on occupational health and safety. In an apartment building, pursuant to Section 13(7) of this Act, the employer’s duties regarding the common equipment of the building are performed by the association of apartment and non-residential premises owners or by the building manager with whom the owners have concluded an administration contract under Act No. 182/1993 Coll.
The operator is therefore responsible for the maintenance of the lift, its operation, the prescribed inspections and tests, keeping the technical documentation up to date and remedying identified shortcomings.
What checks must a lift undergo?
A passenger lift in an apartment building is classified technical equipment of the lifting type, group A. The intervals of regular checks are set by Annex No. 7 to Decree No. 508/2009 Coll. and by STN 27 4002:
| Type of check | Carried out by | Interval |
|---|---|---|
| Lift inspection | Lift attendant | every week |
| Expert inspection | Technical inspector | every 3 months |
| Expert test | Technical inspector | every 3 years |
| Repeated official test | Authorised legal entity | every 6 years |
| Repeated official test after reconstruction | Authorised legal entity | after completion of the reconstruction |
Every six years, the lift must therefore undergo a repeated official test carried out by an authorised legal entity as an independent higher level of control. Monitoring these deadlines and ordering the tests in time is the duty of the operator, not of the service organisation.
Repair, modernisation or a new lift?
In practice, care for a lift has three levels and each has different rules:
- Operating the existing lift – worn components are replaced “piece for piece” with identical or equivalent ones. A repeated official test is not required after such a replacement; the service technician or the technical inspector performs a functional test and records the change in the lift’s technical documentation.
- Modernisation (reconstruction) – typically a cabin renovation, replacement of the electrical switchboard, a change of the control system, addition of a frequency converter or replacement of the shaft doors. Such a reconstruction can substantially change the character of the lift’s operation, so the technical documentation of the reconstruction must be assessed by an authorised legal entity before the work starts, and after it is carried out the lift must undergo an official test pursuant to Section 12 of Decree No. 508/2009 Coll.
- Replacing the whole lift – a new lift is a designated product under Act No. 56/2018 Coll. and before being placed on the market it must undergo conformity assessment by a notified body under Government Regulation No. 235/2015 Coll. The lift supplier then issues a declaration of conformity and hands over the accompanying documentation of the lift to the owners.
The assessment of the documentation before a modernisation is not a formality. It can confirm that the proposed solution is sound, but it can also reveal that it reduces the safety level of the original lift, or that the intervention is a substantial modification and the lift is to be treated as a new designated product, including conformity assessment. In that case it is usually more advantageous to replace the whole lift. We will cover how to distinguish a repair from a reconstruction, and how to proceed with a modernisation, in a separate article.
Who pays for the damage if something happens?
Under Act No. 124/2006 Coll., the operator of technical equipment is responsible for its technical condition and safety. If damage to property or harm to the health of its users arises from the unsatisfactory technical condition of the lift, the full responsibility is borne by the operator, which means the association of owners or the building manager. The operator is not relieved of this responsibility by entrusting the care of the lift to a service organisation.
Good practice for owners’ associations and building managers
- Reliable service – choose an authorised service organisation and insist on keeping the agreed deadlines.
- Regular checks – carry them out within the prescribed intervals and remedy the identified shortcomings.
- Independent verification – order the repeated official test directly from an independent authorised legal entity, which provides its findings to the party ordering the test.
- Assess changes in advance – have every proposed change to the existing lift assessed in advance by an authorised legal entity.
- A new lift with an assessment – before approving a quotation for a new lift, require an assessment of the design documentation by a notified body.
Conclusion: the safe operation of lifts rests with the operator
The safe operation of lifts is impossible without regular maintenance, checks and tests. Without them, a lift can endanger the health and lives of the building’s residents. Only a lift that meets all legal and technical requirements can be considered safe. A safe lift begins with the responsible approach of those who own and manage the building.