Shaftless through-floor lifts in Naples

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 Naples need a permit?

An elevator serving only your Naples home is outside the state elevator law, so the permits are local building and electrical ones: Collier County's Building Permits and Construction office for unincorporated addresses, or your city's building department inside Naples or Marco Island. Check with your building department, or ask the installer to, for the exact submittal list.

Collier is not a contracted elevator jurisdiction, so an elevator serving shared areas of a condo building is permitted and inspected by the state bureau directly, at $325 to install a regulated conveyance.[6][7][8][9]

Naples condos and shaftless through-floor lifts

About 17 percent of Collier County homes are in buildings of 20 or more units, with many more in low-rise coach homes and carriage homes. A lift inside your own unit is a private residence lift under Florida law once the association approves it.

Collier's housing is young: about 46 percent of homes were built in 2000 or later, and the median home dates from 1998. Newer homes often have wider stairs and stronger walls, which can make a stair lift or elevator simpler to fit than in older South Florida houses.

About 34 percent of Collier County residents are 65 or older, and 29 percent in Lee County, the highest shares of the areas we serve. Planning a lift early lets a household choose the model and wait out lead times without pressure.[2][6][3][4]

Help paying for a through-floor lift in Collier

Collier and Lee are in Medicaid managed care Region F, and long-term care screening starts with the Area Agency on Aging for Southwest Florida on (239) 652-6900 or its helpline (866) 413-5337. Elevators are not named among covered adaptations. Eligible veterans can apply for the VA's Specially Adapted Housing grant, up to $126,526 in fiscal year 2026; local VA care is through the Naples VA Clinic on Goodlette Road North and the Lee County VA Clinic in Cape Coral.[10][11][12][13][14][5][15]

What is different about a home lift in Naples?

Storm surge shapes everything here. Hurricane Ian brought 6 to 9 feet of inundation to Naples and 8 to 12 feet to Bonita Springs and North Naples, and the Naples Pier tide gauge recorded 6.18 feet above high tide before it was destroyed. FEMA expects a float switch or equal system on any elevator whose cab could descend below the base flood elevation, with pumps and controls kept above that level where possible.

Collier is outside the High Velocity Hurricane Zone, so outdoor lifts follow the standard Florida wind rules; the surge, salt and sun are what shorten their life.[16][17][19]

Permits in Naples

• Collier County Building Permits and Construction: Building and electrical permits for unincorporated Collier County. The City of Naples and Marco Island issue permits inside their limits; check with your building department for the submittal list.
• Florida DBPR Bureau of Elevator Safety: Regulates covered elevators directly in Collier and Lee, such as lifts in shared condo areas ($325 to install a regulated conveyance). Lifts serving only one family residence are not regulated by the bureau.

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