Straight stair lifts in Miami

Who this is for

Straight lifts suit a single flight with no turns or intermediate landings. If your stairs have a turn, even a small one at the bottom, you need a curved lift or two straight lifts with a landing between them.

Do straight stair lifts in Miami need a permit?

Florida's elevator law does not cover stair lifts in private residences. Miami-Dade's Office of Elevator Safety still lists the inclined stairway chairlift as device class 17 on its permit to install form, so ask your installer to confirm with that office and your city building department whether your address needs a permit before fitting.

In Miami Beach, the city's Elevator Safety Division holds authority over elevators, wheelchair lifts and related equipment, which is worth a call before a lift goes into a condo stairwell or shared area.[6][7][8]

Miami houses and straight stair lifts

Only about 38 percent of Miami-Dade homes are single-family detached houses, and many in Coral Gables, Coconut Grove and Pinecrest are two-storey homes with turning staircases. Those are the homes where a curved stair lift or a compact elevator usually ends up on the shortlist.

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.

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.[3][2][4]

Help paying for a straight stair lift in Miami-Dade

Medicare does not usually pay for a stair lift, because CMS treats it as a home modification. For Medicaid long-term care in Miami-Dade (Region I), the first step is a screening call to the Alliance for Aging on (305) 670-6500. Veterans should know that the VA's HISA benefit excludes stair glides; health questions go through the Miami VA health care system, whose medical center is on NW 16th Street.[9][10][5][11][12]

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.[13][14][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.

What features matter most?

• A swivel seat, so the rider can get off facing the landing, not the stairs
• A folding rail or hinge at the bottom if the rail would block a doorway
• Seat belt and easy-to-press controls on the arm
• Call and send remotes at the top and bottom, for when the chair is parked at the other end
• Battery backup, so it still works in a power cut

Does the rail go on the wall or the stairs?

Fixr notes that in most cases the lift is fixed to the staircase wall, and some models fix directly onto the treads. That matters in Florida homes with tiled concrete stairs, so ask how the rail will be fixed and what repair is needed if it is removed later.[1]

Frequently asked questions