Sector statutory inspections

Statutory Inspections for Property & Facilities Management

LOLER, PUWER, PSSR and COSHH LEV compliance from one independent inspection body.

In property, the statutory duty follows control: whoever controls the lift, the cradle or the boiler house carries it, whether that is the landlord, the managing agent or the FM provider. The passenger lift sits on a 6 month examination cycle that no scheme can extend.

SEIS examines lift portfolios, facade access and plant rooms across an estate, independent of every maintenance contract on it.

  • Independent & impartial
  • Competent engineer surveyors
  • Reports issued promptly

6-monthly
Passenger lift cycle, not extendable by any scheme
Control
The duty sits with whoever controls the equipment
6-monthly
Occupied cradles and BMUs, because they carry people
2 years
Minimum retention for lift examination reports

Portfolio cover

  • Managing agents, landlords and FM providers
  • Office, retail, residential and mixed estates
  • Examinations independent of the maintenance contractor
  • One portal across every building on the portfolio

What needs inspecting

What needs inspecting across a property portfolio

The lift leads, and independence matters: the thorough examination must come from a competent person independent of the maintenance contract, because an engineer assessing their own servicing is a conflict HSE guidance rules out. Around the lift sit facade access, anchor points, plant rooms and powered doors.

EquipmentRegimeStatutory positionWhat you receive
Passenger lifts in workplaces and staffed buildingsLOLEREvery 6 months; the interval cannot be extended by an examination schemeReport of Thorough Examination
Residential block lifts used only by residentsHSWALOLER does not directly apply, but a 6 monthly examination to the LOLER standard is the accepted way to discharge the Section 3 dutyExamination report to the LOLER standard
Goods lifts and car park liftsLOLEREvery 12 months where they carry loads onlyReport of Thorough Examination
BMUs and window cleaning cradlesLOLEREvery 6 months, because they are occupied by peopleReport of Thorough Examination
Eyebolts anchoring lifting equipmentLOLERExamined as lifting attachments; fall arrest eyebolts sit outside LOLER and are inspected 12 monthly as building fabricReport per anchor type
Powered gates, barriers and shuttersPUWERInspection at risk-based intervals, no fixed statutory dateWritten record of inspection
Boiler house plant and calorifiersPSSRExamination to the Written Scheme, report within 28 daysWritten Scheme certification and examination report

A maintenance contract is not an examination: servicing keeps the lift running, the thorough examination decides whether it is safe to keep running, and one never discharges the other.

Sector compliance

The duty that follows control

LOLER places its duties on whoever controls the equipment, and in managed property that lands on the agent or FM provider acting for the owner. The two questions we answer for portfolios are who holds each duty, and whether the examiner is genuinely independent.

The residential lift, handled honestly

A lift in a block of flats used only by residents falls outside LOLER's direct scope, but the Health and Safety at Work Act Section 3 duty remains, and HSE's position is that a LOLER-standard regime, a 6 monthly thorough examination by a competent person, is the reasonably practicable way to discharge it. The moment staff use the lift in the course of their work, cleaners and concierge included, LOLER applies in full anyway.

Either way the sensible answer is identical: examine every people-carrying lift every 6 months and keep the reports. That is also what insurers and fire risk assessors expect to see.

How SEIS runs a portfolio

Every lift, cradle, anchor and plant room across the portfolio sits in one programme with due dates tracked per building, examined by engineer surveyors who hold no maintenance contract anywhere on the estate, which keeps the independence question closed.

Reports are issued per asset in the client portal, so a leaseholder query, an insurer request or a Section 20 consultation is answered from the record rather than from memory. Defects are graded, and anything constituting immediate danger is notified the same day.

Related services

Common questions

Property & Facilities Management inspection FAQs

Do you work with managing agents and FM providers?

Yes. We run examination programmes for managing agents, landlords, RTM companies and FM providers across office, retail, residential and mixed portfolios nationwide.

How quickly can you attend?

Usually within a few working days, and lift examinations are scheduled to keep at least one car in service in multi-lift buildings. Call 0330 043 8191 with the portfolio list.

How often must a passenger lift be examined?

At least every 6 months where it carries people, and that interval cannot be extended by an examination scheme. Goods-only lifts run 12 months. The full framework is in our LOLER guide.

Does LOLER apply to the lift in a residential block?

Not directly where only residents use it, but the Health and Safety at Work Act still requires the risk to be managed, and HSE's guidance treats a 6 monthly LOLER-standard examination as the accepted way to do that. HSE's plain guide for duty holders is at hse.gov.uk.

Can our lift maintenance company do the LOLER examination?

It should not. The competent person needs genuine independence from the maintenance of the same lift, because assessing your own servicing is a conflict of interest HSE guidance warns against. An independent examiner also protects you if a dispute over the lift's condition ever arises.

What about the window cleaning cradle?

BMUs and suspended cradles are examined every 6 months because they carry people, along with their suspension equipment. The eyebolts that anchor lifting equipment are LOLER attachments; fall arrest anchors are inspected separately as building fabric.

Who holds the duty in a managed building?

Whoever has control of the equipment, which in practice is usually the owner with the managing agent or FM provider carrying it out on their behalf. Outsourcing the task does not outsource the responsibility.

How long do we keep lift reports?

At least two years, or until the next report where that is longer, and available to an inspector on request. The portal keeps the full history per lift, so handovers between agents do not lose the record.

Book statutory inspections for your Property & Facilities Management operation