Straight Rail Stairlifts
Single-flight straight-rail stairlifts, the most common installation in care settings and workplaces.
Straight & Curved Stairlift Compliance
Stairlift Inspections in London
Independent statutory examination of stairlifts installed in care homes, sheltered and supported housing, schools and workplaces — settings where LOLER's thorough-examination duty applies alongside the day-to-day safety of often vulnerable users. The report, with photographs, comes the same day, and we remind you before the next one is due.
26+ Years Hands-On Engineering Experience
Independent of Maintenance Contracts
7 Days a Week, 6am to 6pm
Same-Day Reports, With Photos
Certificate expired or lift out of compliance? You're exposed to enforcement action, and your insurance may not respond, until it's resolved. What to do.
Written and reviewed by Mark Crowley, Director, Integrity Lift Compliance Ltd — 26+ years of hands-on lifting equipment engineering. NHS estates, commercial property and industrial lifting compliance.
Engineering Approach
What our stairlift inspection programme delivers
Independent, defensible statutory examination by an engineer with deep hands-on plant experience.
- Six-monthly LOLER thorough examination for stairlifts carrying people
- Straight and curved rail stairlifts covered
- Seat belt, safety-sensor, brake and swivel-mechanism verification
- Common in care homes, sheltered housing, schools and small workplaces
- Independent of the installer or maintenance contractor — we inspect all makes and models, no conflict of interest
- Report with photographs issued the same day, and a reminder before the next is due
What a stairlift inspection covers
A stairlift carries one person, often someone who cannot manage the stairs at all, so the examination concentrates on everything that would stop the seat moving safely:
- Rail and fixings: the rail, joints and the brackets fixing it to the stairs
- Drive and brake: motor, gearbox, rack or rope and the brake
- Overspeed safety gear: the device that stops the carriage if it runs away
- Seat, swivel and footrest: seat fixings, swivel locking and footrest
- Seat belt: belt, buckle and any interlock
- Safety edges and sensors: the sensors on the footrest and carriage that stop it on an obstruction
- Controls: joystick or buttons, call and send controls, and key switch
- Batteries and limits: battery condition, charging contacts, and top and bottom limits
Safety edges and swivel locks are where stairlifts most often fail.
When LOLER applies to a stairlift
Where LOLER applies, a stairlift is six-monthly, because it lifts a person. It applies to stairlifts provided at work, in care homes, sheltered and supported housing, schools and the common parts of blocks of flats. A stairlift in a private home used only by the family is usually outside LOLER, though it still needs servicing.
Does LOLER apply to a stairlift in a private home?What you get after the inspection
A Report of Thorough Examination with everything LOLER Schedule 1 requires — including the stairlift identified, the date examined, its safe working load, any defect with what must be done and by when, and the date the next examination is due — with each defect graded by severity. On top of that:
- Same-day report: issued digitally on the day of the inspection, not weeks later
- Photographs: of what was inspected and of any defect, in every report as standard
- Records and reminders: we keep the record on file and remind you before the next one falls due
If anything is not safe to use, you are told in writing before we leave. Because we sell no repairs, a defect on the report is never a quotation in disguise.
Assets We Examine
Asset classes covered under our stairlift inspection programme.
Curved Rail Stairlifts
Custom-fitted curved-rail stairlifts for staircases with landings, turns or bends.
Standing & Perch Stairlifts
Standing-platform stairlifts for users unable to bend their knees to sit, common in care and supported-living settings.
Manufacturers We Inspect
Independent of every installer and manufacturer — no conflict of interest, whichever make is on your site.
- Stannah
- Acorn
- Handicare
- Bruno
- Brooks
- Otolift
- Platinum Stairlifts
- Minivator
- Companion Stairlifts
Trusted by Critical Estates
Independent. Defensible. Genuinely Endorsed.
SAFed-aligned defect classification, and the endorsement below is a genuine NHS Trust quote — not stock marketing copy.
NHS
NHS
Critical estate passenger lift compliance experience
SK
Skanska
Construction & engineering compliance support
A·B·C
SAFed-Aligned Defect Grading
Defects graded A, B or C to the published SAFed severity scale — a grading standard we follow, not a membership we hold
DBS
Enhanced DBS
Director Mark Crowley holds an enhanced DBS check
NHS Trust Endorsement
“Exceptional response times and thorough documentation. Managing compliance across multiple critical medical estates is complex, but their team makes statutory lift auditing seamless.”
Phillip Nai
Critical Healthcare Estates Manager
Barts Health NHS Trust
Areas We Cover
Independent stairlift inspections across London.
Common Questions
Stairlift Inspection FAQs
How often does a stairlift need a LOLER thorough examination?
Every six months where LOLER applies, because a stairlift lifts a person. That covers stairlifts in care homes, sheltered housing, schools, workplaces and communal areas of blocks of flats.
Does LOLER apply to a stairlift in a private home?
Usually not, if it is in a private house and used only by the family. It does apply where the stairlift is provided by an employer or a care provider, for example in a care home or where carers use it at work.
What does a stairlift examination check?
The rail and its fixings, the drive and brake, the seat and swivel, the seat belt, safety edges and sensors, the call and control switches, and the battery and charging contacts.
Can you inspect stairlifts in our care home on the same visit as the lift?
Yes, along with hoists and slings. Each item has its own record and next-due date, and we remind you before they are due.
Do curved stairlifts need anything different?
The interval is the same six months. Curved rails have more joints and fixings, so the examination takes a little longer.
Is the stairlift service the same as the LOLER inspection?
No. A service keeps it working. The LOLER thorough examination is a separate legal check that it is safe to keep using, and is best done by someone independent of the servicing company.
How soon do I get the report?
The same day, with photographs.
Request a Survey
Tell us what needs inspecting and where. We'll reply within one business hour.
Already have an asset list or examination schedule? Email it to info@integrityliftcompliance.co.uk and we'll come back with a survey plan rather than ask you to retype it.
Survey Request Form
Further reading on stairlift inspections
Does LOLER Apply to a Stairlift in a Private Home?
For most householders the answer is no, and nobody tells them so. LOLER covers lifting equipment provided for use at work. A stairlift a homeowner installed and uses themselves is not work equipment. The moment someone's employee relies on it to do their job, the position changes.
How Often Are LOLER Inspections Required?
Six months for equipment that lifts people and for lifting accessories, twelve months for everything else, or in line with a written examination scheme drawn up by a competent person. That is the whole rule. What catches duty-holders out is rarely the interval itself — it is when the clock starts, what resets it, and the examinations that fall outside the cycle altogether.
Which Standards and Regulations Apply to Your Lift?
Lift compliance is split between two very different things that get muddled constantly: the law that applies when a lift is supplied, and the law that applies while it is in use. Standards sit alongside both without usually being law themselves. Knowing which is which decides who is responsible for what.
Prefer to talk to an engineer?
07496 873972