Maharashtra makes monthly servicing and annual safety audit mandatory for housing society lifts

Mumbai, November 14, 2026: Housing societies in Maharashtra will now have to pay closer attention to the maintenance and safety of their lifts. The state government has notified new rules that make monthly servicing by approved contractors, an annual safety audit and third-party insurance mandatory.

The Maharashtra Lifts, Escalators and Moving Walks Rules, 2026, came into force on November 1. The state's energy department notified them on October 28. The parent law was enacted in 2017, so the rules have come nine years later. They set standards for the installation, operation, inspection and maintenance of lifts, escalators and moving walkways.

Under the new provisions, the managing committees of societies must ensure that lifts are inspected and serviced by an approved contractor at least once a month. Committees must keep service records, review the maintenance schedule and see that faults detected are fixed. An annual safety audit will be mandatory, and its report must be submitted to the Electrical Inspector.

Societies that already have lifts have been given until October 28, 2027. In that time they must install CCTV cameras, an automatic rescue device (ARD) and an overload protection device (OLPD). Every new lift must have these features from the start. Third-party insurance will also be required for installing a lift.

An ARD takes the lift to the nearest floor and opens the doors when power fails, so that passengers are not trapped inside. An OLPD stops the lift from running when it carries more than the stipulated weight. CCTV cameras help record incidents inside the lift.

The rules also fix accountability for contractors who maintain lifts. They must provide a round-the-clock complaint and emergency helpline. Contractors who service more than 50 lifts in a city, or whose lifts are more than 100 km from their headquarters, must open another service centre in that area.

The rules come at a time when lift accidents are recurring in the state. On Tuesday, in Satpur in Nashik, a lift allegedly fell as a woman was stepping out on the fourth floor of a residential building, and she was injured. The technical cause of the accident has not yet been established.

The rules empower Electrical Inspectors to halt the operation of unsafe lifts. They can also seal a lift if necessary corrections are not made. Every accident involving a lift, escalator or moving walkway must be reported to the Electrical Inspector and the local police within 24 hours. A lift that has been out of service for six months or more must undergo prescribed safety tests by an approved contractor before it is restarted.

Under another provision, children below 12 will not be able to use a lift or escalator without adult supervision. A lift operator must be at least 18 years old.

Until now, lifts in the state were governed by the Bombay Lift Rules, 1958, because rules under the 2017 law had not been notified. After several accidents, civic activists had repeatedly demanded stricter rules.

Societies with older lifts will now have to get their equipment inspected by approved contractors and make budget provision for necessary upgrades. Representatives of societies said the cost would depend on the age and technical features of the lifts.