Twelve questions to raise before you sign. Written for building owners, body corporates and facility managers who have been handed a lift maintenance agreement and are not sure what to look for.
Work through them, tick anything you want looked at, and take the list to whoever is reviewing the agreement for you.
This raises questions. It does not assess your agreement. Nothing here scores, grades or passes judgement on the contract in front of you — it cannot, because it has not seen it. Every question is worth asking of any lift maintenance agreement.
This is general information about how these agreements are commonly structured. It is not advice on your particular contract, and it is not legal advice. Have the agreement reviewed before you sign it.
Term, price and getting out
01–0301
How long does the agreement run, and does it renew by itself?
Long terms that roll over automatically are the most common way a building ends up locked in. If the only window to cancel sits ninety days before each anniversary, missing it by a week can commit you for another full term.
A term you have consciously agreed to, with any renewal happening by written agreement rather than by default.
02
How can the price go up, and is there a ceiling?
“Adjusted annually in line with the contractor’s prevailing rates” is not a mechanism, it is permission. Across a long agreement the gap between a capped published index and an open-ended adjustment becomes substantial.
A named, publicly available index, applied once a year, with the calculation written out plainly enough that you can check it yourself.
03
How do you end it, and what does that cost?
Some agreements can only be ended for a serious, proven breach. Some carry a termination payment calculated on the whole remaining term. Between the two, a contract that is not working can become one you cannot afford to leave.
A right to terminate for convenience on reasonable notice, alongside a right to terminate for a breach that has not been fixed after a fair chance to fix it.
What you are actually buying
04–0704
What is included, and what will be billed on top?
Scope is usually defined by what is excluded rather than what is covered. Exclusions for wear and tear, vandalism, misuse or conditions outside normal service can quietly move most of the real cost outside the fee you have agreed.
A written list of the components and the work that are covered, with exclusions that are specific rather than open-ended.
05
How quickly must they attend, and what happens if they don’t?
Attending a passenger trapped in a lift and attending a lift that is simply out of service are different obligations. A stated response time with no consequence attached to it is a statement of intent, not a commitment.
Separate response times for entrapment and for a lift out of service, expressed in hours, with a stated consequence if they are repeatedly missed.
06
How often is the equipment serviced, and how do you know it happened?
Service frequency is often left to the contractor’s discretion. Without a stated number of visits and a record of what was done on each one, you have no way to establish whether the equipment has actually been maintained.
A stated number of visits per unit per year, a defined list of tasks, and a signed record for every attendance.
07
What reporting do you receive, and who owns the records?
Maintenance history and fault logs are the first thing a future contractor, an insurer or a purchaser will ask for. If those records sit with the incumbent rather than the building, changing contractor becomes far harder than it needs to be.
Written reporting at a stated frequency, and a clear statement that the maintenance records belong to the building.
Where the risk sits
08–1008
Who carries the risk, and what are the limits?
Liability caps, indemnities and insurance obligations decide who pays when something goes wrong. A cap set at the value of the annual fee can leave the building carrying almost all of the exposure while paying someone else to manage it.
Insurance levels that are named and current, indemnities that run in both directions, and a liability cap that bears some relationship to the risk being carried.
09
What happens when parts are no longer available?
Obsolescence is the point at which a maintenance agreement quietly turns into a capital project. If the contract is silent on it, you may find the only path offered to you is a full replacement quoted by the same contractor.
An obligation to give you notice when parts are becoming unavailable, and no obligation on you to accept any particular upgrade path in response.
10
Can anyone else service this equipment?
If the controller is locked, the diagnostic tool is proprietary, or the software is licensed only to the original manufacturer, the competitive market for your maintenance disappears at exactly the moment you most need it.
Access to the tools, passwords, parameters and documentation a competent third party would need to maintain and fault-find the equipment.
Beyond today
11–1211
Does the contract follow the building if it is sold?
An agreement that binds a future owner affects what the building is worth and what a purchaser is prepared to accept. One that cannot be assigned at all can leave a seller carrying an obligation for a building they no longer own.
Assignment to a new owner permitted on notice, with the contractor’s consent not to be unreasonably withheld.
12
What must actually be achieved, and what is your recourse?
Most agreements describe activity — visits made, inspections carried out, calls attended — rather than any outcome. Without something measurable, there is nothing to hold anyone to when the lifts keep stopping.
At least one measurable obligation, such as availability or the resolution of repeat faults, and a stated remedy where it is not met.
Areas to raise
Whatever you have ticked appears here, so you can take the list into the conversation with whoever is reviewing the agreement.
You haven’t flagged anything yet. That is not a finding either way — the checklist has no view on your agreement. All twelve areas are worth raising with a reviewer regardless.
Have it reviewed before you sign. A lift maintenance agreement is usually the longest-running contract on a building and the hardest one to unwind. An independent read before signature costs a fraction of a term you did not intend to commit to.
Have your agreement reviewed
Send us your details and we will get in touch to arrange a review. We act only for building owners and managers — we do not sell, install or maintain lifts, and we take no commission from anyone who does.