Stairs can become the one part of a house that stops working for you even when everything else about the property still does.
That can leave homeowners with a difficult choice. Move to a bungalow or more accessible property, or adapt the house they already have?
Installing a lift will not be the right answer for every home, but moving is not automatically the simpler option either. The decision usually comes down to the property, the amount of adaptation required and how well the house is likely to meet your needs in the years ahead.
Is the house still right apart from the stairs?
This is a useful place to start.
If the location works, the rooms are suitable and you want to remain close to neighbours, family or local services, difficulty getting between floors may be the main reason a move is being considered.
In that situation, adapting the property can solve a specific problem without changing everything else.
It is different where the house already presents several difficulties. Narrow doorways, inaccessible bathrooms, steep external steps or an unsuitable layout may mean that a lift only resolves one part of a much bigger issue.
A home should be considered as a whole rather than deciding on a lift in isolation.
Can a lift actually fit in the property?
Many people assume a domestic lift needs the same shaft, pit and machine-room arrangement as a conventional commercial lift.
That is not always the case.
Modern home lifts are available in a range of configurations, including compact and low-pit systems that can reduce the amount of structural work required.
That still does not mean a lift can simply be placed wherever there is an empty corner.
A survey needs to consider the position on each floor, available headroom, floor openings, structural conditions, door arrangement and the route people will use to reach and leave the lift.
Finding space for the lift car is only part of the job. It also needs to work naturally with the house.
Think about who will use the lift later, not only today
A lift installed because stairs are becoming uncomfortable may eventually need to accommodate very different requirements.
Someone who currently walks into the lift independently may use a walking frame in future. A wheelchair user may need additional car space and suitable door arrangements. Another person may need to travel with them.
That is why specifying only around today’s circumstances can be short-sighted.
Where wheelchair access is already required, a properly sized wheelchair lift may be more appropriate than choosing the smallest system that will fit the available space.
Future use cannot be predicted perfectly, but it should at least form part of the discussion.
Would a stairlift solve the problem?
For some households, yes.
A stairlift can be a practical solution for someone who can transfer safely onto and off the seat and where the staircase is suitable.
A home lift serves a different purpose. It travels independently of the staircase and can accommodate different users depending on the system specified. It may also be more suitable where wheelchair access is required or where more than one member of the household is likely to use it.
The question is therefore not simply whether one costs more than the other. It is whether the solution will still be usable if mobility needs change.
Installing the cheapest option now only to replace it a few years later may not prove particularly economical.
Compare the whole cost of moving
The cost of a home lift is naturally an important part of the decision, but it should not be compared only with the asking price of another property.
Moving can involve estate-agent fees, conveyancing, surveys, removals and, depending on the purchase, Stamp Duty Land Tax. A new property may then require its own alterations before it is suitable.
There are also practical considerations that do not appear neatly on a spreadsheet. A move might mean giving up a familiar area, changing healthcare arrangements or moving further away from family.
On the other hand, substantial alterations to an unsuitable house can become expensive very quickly.
A useful comparison is therefore the cost of making the present property work properly against the complete cost and practical effect of moving somewhere more suitable.
How disruptive would the installation be?
The answer depends heavily on the lift and the property.
Some residential systems can be installed with relatively limited structural work. Others need floor openings, a pit, alterations to walls or additional building work.
The physical installation of the lift may only form one part of the programme. Surveying, design, manufacture and preparation of the property all happen before the lift is commissioned.
If remaining in the property during the work is important, this should be discussed at the survey stage. It is much easier to plan around disruption when the required building work is known before an order is placed.
Funding may be available for necessary adaptations
Where a lift is required because somebody in the household is disabled, assistance towards home adaptations may sometimes be available through the Disabled Facilities Grant in England.
Eligibility and the amount of support depend on individual circumstances and the proposed work, so funding should never be assumed when budgeting for a lift.
It is worth investigating the position before work starts, however, particularly where the alternative may be leaving a home that otherwise remains suitable.
Remember that the lift will need looking after
The cost does not end on installation day.
A domestic lift needs routine servicing, and components will eventually wear or require replacement. The frequency and cost will depend on the lift system and how heavily it is used.
Regular lift servicing and maintenance also gives faults a better chance of being identified before they leave the lift unavailable.
That is particularly important where the person living in the property depends on the lift and cannot simply use the stairs while a repair is arranged.
Make the decision before it becomes urgent
One of the hardest times to choose between adapting and moving is after the stairs have already become unusable.
At that stage, the pressure to find an immediate solution can narrow the available options.
Looking at the property earlier gives more time to compare lift positions, understand the building work and decide whether adapting the house genuinely makes sense.
For some homeowners, moving will still be the better practical choice. For others, a well-planned home lift can remove the main reason they were considering leaving in the first place.
New Lift Solutions surveys existing properties as well as new-build homes, allowing the available space, structural requirements and likely use of the lift to be assessed before a system is recommended.