The Lift and Escalator Industry Association code of practice LM01 defines three maintenance types: basic, which keeps equipment clean and reports what needs replacing; comprehensive, which replaces parts that fail through wear and tear within an agreed scope; and premium, which aims to minimise breakdowns. None includes the LOLER thorough examination, which is arranged separately with an independent competent person. Exclusions, response times and LG1 tests decide the real cost.
What the law requires
Regulation 5 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 requires work equipment to be maintained in an efficient state, in efficient working order and in good repair, and where machinery has a maintenance log, for the log to be kept up to date. That is the legal basis of every lift maintenance contract. Regulation 9 of the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998 separately requires a thorough examination at least every six months for lifts carrying persons and twelve months for other lifts, by a competent person, and HSE's INDG339 advises that the competent person should be independent of the maintainer. The law therefore forces two contracts, and the first thing a buyer must understand is that neither replaces the other; our LOLER versus PUWER guide sets out the split.
The standards that shape the maintenance contract are BS EN 13015:2001+A1:2008, which requires the installer to supply maintenance instructions for the specific lift and is the basis of the contractor's programme, and BS 7255:2023, the code of practice for safe working on lifts, which replaced the 2012 edition on 30 November 2023 and governs how engineers work on site. Contracts still citing BS 7255:2012 are out of date.
Who is responsible
The owner or duty holder of the lift, as employer or person in control of the premises, holds the PUWER maintenance duty and the LOLER examination duty. In a residential block the freeholder or RMC holds them and the managing agent delivers them under contract. The maintenance contractor is responsible for the work it contracts to do and nothing more, which is why the scope matters. Our duty holder guide covers the allocation of roles, and our care home compliance checklist shows how many lifts and hoists a single building can hold.
The three contract types
The Lift and Escalator Industry Association (LEIA) code of practice LM01 (2013) defines three maintenance types. The market layers its own vocabulary on top, notably "fully comprehensive", which is not a LEIA term and means whatever the contract says it means.
Lift maintenance contract types compared (LEIA LM01 definitions)
| Feature | Type 1 Basic | Type 2 Comprehensive | Type 3 Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| LM01 definition | Keep the equipment clean enough to minimise fire hazards and inform the responsible person when an item needs repair or replacement | Comprehensively maintain all the equipment and replace parts within the agreed scope that fail through general wear and tear | Aim to minimise breakdowns and keep the equipment running |
| Parts | Not included; quoted separately | Included within the defined scope | Included within a wider scope, often with proactive replacement |
| Labour for repairs | Not included beyond the visit | Included for scope items | Included |
| Call-outs | Usually charged | Usually included in hours; check out-of-hours | Included, often with enhanced response |
| Best suited to | New lifts under warranty; owners with in-house engineering; low-use goods lifts | Most passenger lifts in commercial and residential buildings | Hospitals, high-rise, high-traffic and business-critical lifts |
| Budget behaviour | Low fixed cost, unpredictable repair spend | Higher fixed cost, predictable within scope | Highest fixed cost, most predictable |
| Risk with older lifts | Repair bills escalate | Obsolescence exclusion moves parts outside scope | Obsolescence still excluded unless negotiated |
LM01 also states what it does not do: it does not define a frequency or minimum duration for visits, and it does not cover LOLER thorough examinations. Both must be written into the contract by the buyer.
The exclusions that decide the real cost
LM01 lists the typical exclusions, and a buyer should read the exclusion schedule before the price. The LEIA list covers: lift car lighting; cleaning of decorative finishes inside the car and on landings; cleaning of glass; hydraulic cylinder dismantling; inspection or replacement of specific parts such as ropes, the machine and the control system; components that fail through misuse or vandalism; and parts, assemblies or items no longer in production or supported by the original manufacturer.
The last exclusion, obsolescence, is the one that matters most for lifts over 15 to 20 years old. A comprehensive contract on a lift whose controller is no longer manufactured is comprehensive only until the controller fails, at which point the contractor issues a modernisation quotation outside the contract. Buyers should ask the contractor to state, in writing, which major components on each lift are obsolete or approaching obsolescence before signing. Our lift modernisation planning guide covers what follows, using BS EN 81-80:2019, the standard for improving the safety of existing lifts, as the framework.
What good evidence looks like
LM01 states the contractor will provide a maintenance log card and make entries after each visit, and PUWER Regulation 5(2) requires that log to be kept up to date. A well-run contract produces:
- A visit record per lift per visit, signed, with time on site and work done.
- A defect and repair log with dates raised and closed.
- Call-out records with response and attendance times against the contract KPIs.
- The LOLER thorough examination reports, from the separate competent person, cross-referenced to the maintenance defects they generated.
- The LG1 supplementary test schedule and results.
- An annual condition statement per lift noting obsolescence and recommended works.
If the contractor holds the records in its own portal, the contract must give the owner the data on termination.
Response times and KPIs
There is no statutory or LEIA standard response time. Published public sector contract terms give a reference point for what the market delivers. Haringey Council specifies a one-hour response for lift trappings, three hours for breakdowns in working hours and four hours out of hours, with monthly servicing. A housing association tender awarded in February 2026 required one hour for entrapment emergencies, four hours for urgent breakdowns and 24 hours for non-urgent issues, with quarterly servicing. Use these as examples of achievable terms rather than sector norms, and write the entrapment response as an absolute obligation with a remedy for breach. Specify how response is measured (arrival on site, not acknowledgement of the call) and require the contractor to report against it monthly.
Supplementary tests and the examination interface
The competent person who carries out the LOLER thorough examination decides whether supplementary tests are needed, using the Safety Assessment Federation guideline LG1 (issue 04.1, June 2020). LG1's periodicities are indicative: five-yearly for tests such as earth continuity, terminal speed reduction, traction and brake, power-operated doors and overload detection; ten-yearly for safety gear, overspeed governor, unintended car movement protection and hydraulic cylinders in boreholes. LEIA notes that the owner typically appoints the maintenance provider to carry out the tests and report back. They are separate from routine maintenance and should be priced as a schedule in the contract, not left to ad hoc quotation. Our LOLER thorough examination guide covers the examination itself.
Common failures and enforcement consequences
- One contract assumed to cover both duties. The maintenance contractor's visits do not discharge LOLER Regulation 9, and the examination does not maintain the lift.
- Visit frequency not specified. LM01 leaves it open; a contract that does the same is priced on the contractor's assumptions.
- Obsolescence discovered at failure. A comprehensive contract that becomes a modernisation quote mid-term.
- Response time defined as acknowledgement. The entrapment clock should run to arrival.
- Records held by the contractor. No data on termination, so the new contractor starts blind.
- Examination defects not fed to the maintainer. LOLER reports with open items and no maintenance action are the finding an HSE inspector makes first.
An entrapment or injury with an out-of-date examination or an unmaintained lift is investigated under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, and the maintenance log and examination reports are the first documents requested. Where the competent person reports a defect involving imminent risk of serious injury, LOLER Regulation 10 requires a copy to go to the enforcing authority, and the lift must come out of service until it is fixed.
Procurement checklist
Decide the LM01 type per lift; obtain the obsolescence statement before tender; specify visit count, minimum duration and response times measured to arrival; attach and negotiate the exclusion schedule; price the LG1 test schedule; confirm LEIA membership and engineer competence using our contractor vetting and accreditation guide; procure the LOLER examination separately; and require record ownership on termination.
Working with TICDesk
TICDesk is a UK procurement desk for testing, inspection and compliance work. Tell us how many lifts you have, their age and type, the current contract type and the problems you are seeing, and we introduce up to three vetted lift maintenance companies, typically within 48 hours, each quoting against the same specified scope, visit frequency and response times. The service is free to the client; TICDesk earns a success fee from the contractor. Visit our lifts desk or open a brief.
Frequently asked
What are the types of lift maintenance contract?
The LEIA code of practice LM01 sets out three. Type 1 Basic keeps the equipment clean enough to minimise fire hazards and informs the responsible person when an item needs repair or replacement. Type 2 Comprehensive commits the contractor to maintain all the equipment and replace parts within the agreed scope that fail through general wear and tear. Type 3 Premium aims to minimise breakdowns. The market term fully comprehensive is not a LEIA definition.
What does a comprehensive lift maintenance contract exclude?
LM01 lists typical exclusions: lift car lighting, cleaning of decorative finishes inside the car and on landings, cleaning of glass, hydraulic cylinder dismantling, inspection or replacement of specific parts such as ropes, the machine and the control system, components that fail through misuse or vandalism, and parts no longer in production or supported by the original manufacturer. The last point, obsolescence, is what turns a comprehensive contract into a quotation for modernisation.
Does a lift maintenance contract include the LOLER inspection?
No. LM01 states that it does not cover thorough examinations under the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998, and that the responsible person must arrange a periodic thorough examination by an independent competent person at intervals not exceeding six months for a passenger-carrying lift or twelve months for a non-passenger lift. HSE guidance INDG339 advises that the person who maintains the lift should not examine it, because they would be assessing their own work.
How many maintenance visits should a lift have each year?
LM01 deliberately does not define a frequency or minimum duration for visits. The number depends on the equipment, its age, usage and environment, and the manufacturer's maintenance instructions provided under BS EN 13015. Public sector contracts published on Contracts Finder show quarterly servicing for some housing stock and monthly visits for others. Specify the visit count and duration in the contract rather than accepting a per-visit price with the frequency left open.
What response times are normal in lift maintenance contracts?
There is no statutory or LEIA standard. Published local authority terms give a reference: Haringey Council specifies one hour for lift trappings and three hours for breakdowns in working hours, four hours out of hours, with monthly servicing. A 2026 housing association tender required one hour for entrapments, four hours for urgent breakdowns and 24 hours for non-urgent issues. Treat these as examples of achievable terms, and write the entrapment response as a hard obligation.
What are LG1 supplementary tests and who pays for them?
LG1 is the Safety Assessment Federation guideline on supplementary tests of in-service lifts, issue 04.1 dated June 2020. The competent person carrying out the LOLER thorough examination decides which tests are needed; the periodicities are indicative, with five-yearly tests such as earth continuity and brake and traction, and ten-yearly tests such as safety gear and overspeed governor. LEIA notes the owner typically appoints the maintenance provider to carry them out, priced separately.
Sources & further reading
