Elevators for existing homes in Fort Lauderdale

Who this is for

This is for families who love their home and want to stay in it, often a two-storey house where one person can no longer manage the stairs safely.

Do elevators for existing homes in Fort Lauderdale need a permit?

An elevator serving only your Fort Lauderdale home is outside the state elevator law, so the permits are your city's building and electrical permits. Broward County's Elevator Section, which acts for the state in Broward, handles elevators in shared buildings, including lifts that serve condo common areas.

Broward is in the High Velocity Hurricane Zone, which matters for any part of the elevator exposed to the weather: exterior towers, hoistway doors that open outside and glazing all need product approvals that meet the stricter rules.[6][7][8][9]

Older Fort Lauderdale homes and elevators for existing homes

Fort Lauderdale has some of the oldest housing in South Florida: about 64 percent of homes were built before 1980 and the median home dates from 1973. Older block homes can need extra framing, wider doorways or electrical upgrades before a lift goes in.

About 40 percent of homes in Fort Lauderdale, and 29 percent across Broward, are in buildings of 20 or more units. A lift inside your own two-level unit counts as a private residence lift under Florida law, but the association's written approval comes first.

About 19 percent of Broward residents are 65 or older. Fort Lauderdale's older housing means many homes have steps at the entrance as well as inside.[2][3][6][10]

Help paying for an elevator retrofit in Broward

Broward is its own Medicaid managed care region, Region H, and long-term care screening starts with the Area Agency on Aging of Broward County on (954) 745-9567. Elevators are not named among covered home adaptations, so ask before counting on it. Eligible veterans can apply for the VA's Specially Adapted Housing grant, up to $126,526 in fiscal year 2026; Broward veterans use the Miami VA health care system, with clinics in Sunrise, Hollywood and Deerfield Beach.[11][12][13][14][5]

What is different about a home lift in Broward?

Broward and Miami-Dade are the two Florida counties in the High Velocity Hurricane Zone. That matters most for outdoor elevators and porch lifts, whose enclosures, doors and glazing must meet the stricter product rules. Waterfront and canal-side homes should also check their flood zone, because FEMA expects a float switch or equal system on any elevator that could descend below the base flood elevation.

Heavy rain floods low streets here too: on April 12 and 13, 2023, the National Weather Service measured more than 20 inches of rain near Fort Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport and found still water just over 3 feet deep in Edgewood. Any elevator pit, porch lift base or battery in a low spot needs a plan for that.[9][15][18]

Permits in Fort Lauderdale

• Broward County Building Code Division, Elevator Section: Handles elevator permits and certificates of operation in Broward under contract with the state for conveyances the law covers.
• City of Fort Lauderdale and other Broward cities: Issue local building and electrical permits for work inside homes. Your installer confirms the route for your address.

Where can an elevator go in an existing house?

• Stacked closets on each floor, the classic retrofit spot
• Beside or inside the stairwell, using open space above the stairs
• The corner of a large room, for a pneumatic or through-floor model
• An outside wall, with a tower added to the house

Condos and townhouses

Florida law defines a private residence as a separate dwelling or a separate apartment occupied by members of a single-family unit, so a lift inside one condo unit is treated as a private residence lift. The building's association rules, structure and insurance still apply, so get written approval before you order anything.[6]

Frequently asked questions