Shaftless through-floor lifts in Miami

Who this is for

Shaftless lifts are designed for two floors. They suit homes where a corner of the living room lines up with a bedroom or landing above, and families who need a solution quickly, for example after a hospital stay.

• Two-storey homes
• One rider, or one rider in a wheelchair on larger models
• Homes where a full shaft is not practical

Do shaftless through-floor lifts in Miami need a permit?

Florida's elevator law leaves out elevators in private residences, but the county building permit still applies. Miami-Dade's mechanical fee schedule has its own line for a private residential elevator, Category 52, at $64.38 per elevator, and your installer confirms which building and electrical permits go with it.

Miami-Dade, the City of Miami and Miami Beach are state-contracted elevator jurisdictions, so any lift that serves shared condo areas goes through those local offices rather than Tallahassee. Miami Beach runs its own Elevator Safety Division, which issues permits only to registered elevator companies.[6][7][8][9]

Miami condos and shaftless through-floor lifts

Miami is a city of apartments: about 52 percent of homes in the City of Miami, and 34 percent across Miami-Dade, are in buildings of 20 or more units. Florida law treats one family's own apartment as a private residence, so a lift inside a two-level unit is a private residence lift, but you will still need the association's written approval first.

About 47 percent of Miami-Dade homes were built before 1980, and the median home dates from 1982. Older block homes often have narrow stairs and no obvious shaft space, so the survey checks wall structure, stair width and the electrical panel before a model is chosen.

About 17 percent of Miami-Dade residents are 65 or older, roughly 1 in 6 people. Planning a lift before it is urgent gives time to compare models and arrange permits.[2][6][3][4]

Help paying for a through-floor lift in Miami-Dade

For Florida Medicaid long-term care, Miami-Dade is in Region I, and screening starts with the Alliance for Aging on (305) 670-6500. The programme covers home accessibility adaptations but does not name elevators, so ask the plan before counting on it. Veterans with a qualifying service-connected disability can ask about the VA's Specially Adapted Housing grant, up to $126,526 in fiscal year 2026; the local VA medical center is the Bruce W. Carter VA Medical Center on NW 16th Street.[10][11][12][13][5]

What is different about a home lift in Miami-Dade?

Miami-Dade is one of only two Florida counties in the High Velocity Hurricane Zone, so outdoor lift towers, enclosures and doors must meet the stricter product approvals used there. Homes near the bay, the beaches and canals should check their flood zone, because FEMA expects any elevator that could descend below the base flood elevation to have a float switch or an equal system.

In a condo, Florida law treats a single family's own apartment as a private residence, so a lift inside your unit is a private residence lift. Anything that serves the building's shared areas is not, and follows the state and county elevator rules for public conveyances.[14][15][6]

Permits in Miami

• Miami-Dade County Building (Permitting and Inspection): Building, electrical and mechanical permits in unincorporated Miami-Dade; its fee schedule lists Category 52, residential elevator (private or individual), at $64.38 per elevator.
• Miami-Dade Office of Elevator Safety: A state-contracted elevator jurisdiction. Its permit-to-install form lists inclined stairway chairlifts and inclined and vertical wheelchair lifts as device classes.
• City of Miami Beach Elevator Safety Division: Holds jurisdiction over elevators, wheelchair lifts and related equipment in Miami Beach; permits go to registered elevator companies, not owners.
• City of Miami: Also a state-contracted elevator jurisdiction for the conveyances the state law covers.

Does my home suit a through-floor lift?

You need a spot on the ground floor and a matching spot upstairs, often a bedroom corner, with no joists, pipes or ducts that cannot be moved in the way. Some models mount on a load-bearing wall. We check this with a tape measure and a look into the ceiling at the free visit.

Are shaftless lifts safe?

The Florida Building Code requires private residence elevators to comply with ASME A17.1 and platform lifts to comply with ASME A18.1, so ask which standard the model is built to and how it stops if something is underneath it. The Max Grablin Act door gap rules apply to new elevators in a private residence, so ask how any model with a hoistway door meets them.[21][6]

Frequently asked questions