New lifts in old blocks. Expert explains who will have to build the lifts

• In 2026, regulations will come into force requiring the installation of elevators in multi-family residential buildings with three or more storeys and in public buildings with two or more storeys.
• The obligation to add a lift will also apply to already constructed blocks of flats in the event of their reconstruction and a change in the use of the building or a device connected with it.
• - In the event of extension, superstructure, reconstruction and change of use of a building, as well as related construction equipment, the provisions of the regulation apply only and exclusively to the part being extended, superstructured or rebuilt or subject to change of use - says legal counsel Joanna Maj from the SWK Legal Law Firm.

On Friday, June 13, the Government Legislation Centre published a draft regulation of the Minister of Development and Technology on the technical requirements that buildings and their location should meet, which assumes that investors and housing communities and cooperatives (including developers and individual investors) will be obliged to install an elevator in the following buildings :

• multi-family residential buildings with three or more storeys,
• public buildings with two or more storeys,
• collective housing (excluding collective housing buildings in closed areas) with two or more storeys.

If it is not necessary to install an elevator, it will be sufficient to provide access by constructing a ramp.

The Ministry of Development emphasises that the proposed regulations aim, among other things, to facilitate access to buildings and related facilities for people with various types of disabilities.

Communities and cooperatives will also have to cover the cost of adapting an already constructed building to the needs of people with disabilities, if the building is to be rebuilt, for example. At the same time, they will have to pay for the construction of a passenger lift to existing buildings that are not equipped with an elevator.

Legal adviser Joanna Maj from SWK Legal explains that the provisions of the draft regulation regarding the installation of elevators will have to be applied to a building or its part and related construction equipment in the case of design, construction, reconstruction and change of use of the building or related construction equipment . As attorney Joanna Maj adds, in the case of extension, superstructure, reconstruction and change of use of the building, as well as related construction equipment, the provisions of the regulation shall apply only and exclusively to the part being extended, superstructured and rebuilt or subject to change of use.

If there is no construction, reconstruction or change of use in a given building, and it is not covered by design work, there is no obligation to apply the provisions of this draft regulation - the building should comply with the regulations in force at the time of its construction (and the regulations in force at the time of changes introduced earlier as a result of any work mentioned above)

- adds legal counsel Joanna Maj.

The expert also points out that if the reconstruction covers only, for example, sanitary facilities, there is no need to adapt the entire building in every aspect to the provisions of the draft regulation (for example, in terms of the obligation to equip it with a passenger lift) . However, there are, of course, no obstacles to applying the provisions on the installation of lifts in cases other than the aforementioned construction, reconstruction or change of use.

The provision (in connection with the justification and purpose of its application) does not cause the reconstruction of existing residential buildings in every case and therefore the need to install a lift does not arise in every case. Of course, the lack of a statutory (or "regulatory") obligation to implement such an investment does not prevent the owner or manager of the facility, having the appropriate financial resources for this purpose, from equipping the facility with a facility facilitating the movement of people living in it

- emphasizes attorney Joanna Maj.

Importantly, in a housing cooperative, the decision to add an elevator to a given property must be approved by the owners of the premises, in addition to the statutory bodies authorized to do so.

The obligation to install a lift in the case of the aforementioned reconstruction will cover housing communities and housing cooperatives, of which there are about 3,500 in Poland. They will therefore have to cover the cost of adding a passenger lift to existing buildings. The Ministry of Development emphasizes that the price of a lift depends on its size, type of shaft, as well as the number of stops. These costs may result in an increase in the price per 1 square meter of usable area of ​​apartments. In addition, in this case there are costs related to the need to subject lifts to periodic inspections, which must be performed once a year, and the costs of any repairs.

It is not possible to indicate a precise amount in terms of price increases for all planned investments due to the diversity and nature of individual investments.

- emphasizes the Ministry of Development.

For the construction of a lift shaft and the purchase and installation of a passenger lift, a housing community or cooperative may obtain funding from the government Accessibility Fund established by the Act of 19 July 2019 on ensuring accessibility for people with special needs (Journal of Laws of 2022, item 2240), run by the National Economy Bank and cooperating financing institutions. Investments that adapt buildings to the needs of people with disabilities, caregivers with small children or the elderly are financed.

The community or cooperative may also apply for support from the State Fund for the Rehabilitation of Disabled People under the Program for Leveling Differences Between Regions. These funds are intended to improve the accessibility of multi-family residential buildings, including the construction of elevators. The investment must ensure accessibility to at least two premises in which people with mobility disabilities with a significant or moderate degree of disability live.

The draft regulation is a consequence of changes in the applicable regulations, including the introduction of new requirements regarding ensuring architectural accessibility for people with special needs, introduced by the provisions of the Act of 5 July 2018 on facilitating the preparation and implementation of housing investments and accompanying investments (Journal of Laws of 2024, item 195) and the provisions of the Act of 19 July 2019 on ensuring accessibility for people with special needs (Journal of Laws of 2024, item 1411) - it is necessary to issue a new regulation on the technical conditions that buildings and their location should meet, regulating anew the matter of technical conditions.

The Regulation will enter into force on 20 September 2026, with some provisions entering into force on 31 December 2026 and 31 December 2029.