Elevators for persons who are disabled

This page contains some advice on the purchase, maintenance, and safe use of elevating devices for people with reduced mobility.

Types of elevating devices

There are various types of elevating devices :

• enclosed vertical platform lift
• unenclosed vertical platform lift
• stair lift
• stair platform lift

Under Construction Code chapter IV, Elevators and other elevating devices, an elevating device may be installed in Québec only if its prototype has been approved and that approval has been sent to the Régie du bâtiment du Québec (RBQ).

Approval is given by an engineer who is a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec or by a holder of a special authorization issued by the Order under section 42.4 of the Professional Code (chapter C-26) whose professional activities are connected with elevators and other lifts.

Are you planning to purchase an elevating device designed specifically to transport a person with reduced mobility between the levels of a building?

For a single-family home, see the list of elevating devices for people with reduced mobility that can be installed in a home [Fr] – PDF (177 KB).

For any building other than a single-family home, see the list of elevating devices for people with reduced mobility that can be installed in a non-residential building [Fr] – PDF (166 KB).

Note : These lists are partial and will be updated as new approved devices are registered by the designers.

The installation

Verify the references of the salesperson, lift manufacturer and installer

• In order to verify the references of the salesperson and lift manufacturer, you may consult the website of the Office de la protection du consommateur .
• To verify if the installer holds the RBQ licence of the appropriate class, please refer to the Licence holders repertory.

For obvious safety and cost reasons, you need a maintenance contract with a contractor who has a subclass 14.2 licence.

The device manufacturer can provide you with a maintenance program, often in the form of a user manual.

Standard CSA B355, which is in force in Québec, sets out the minimum maintenance requirements for elevating devices to be in compliance with chapter IV, Elevators and other elevating devices, of the Safety Code.

Under the Safety Code, the owner of an elevating device must ensure that:

• the device is used solely to transport a person who is disabled or has reduced mobility
• the person using the device knows how to operate it safely
• the installer provides the owner with any other use condition defined by the RBQ as part of an equivalent or different solution, as the case may be.