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Home lift in a house: building works, municipality, CE marking and maintenance

What the municipality asks for the works, what the appliance should come with (CE marking, declaration, logbook) and what the law requires afterwards: maintenance and inspection.

CasaSemDegraus teamUpdated on 03/11/2026 · 7 min read
A glass home lift in the living room of a house with a light sofaIllustration

In short

  • Interior-only works that do not touch the façades are exempt from a licence; if they touch the structure, a stability project and a technician's statement of responsibility are needed.
  • A tower outside the house needs a licence or prior notice, depending on the area.
  • The lift should come with CE marking, an EU declaration of conformity and instructions with a logbook.
  • Afterwards: a maintenance contract with a company registered with the DGEG and periodic inspection by the municipality.

Want to put a lift into a house that already exists? Three sets of rules come into play: the building work (the municipality), the appliance (CE marking and papers) and what the law requires afterwards (maintenance and inspection). This guide explains each one and ends with questions to ask the installer.

Updated on 3 November 2026. General information, it does not replace the opinion of a qualified technician or the information from your municipality.

The essentials

  • Inside the house: the work is exempt from a licence and from prior notice if it does not touch the façades and, if it touches the structure (for example, cutting a floor slab), comes with a stability project and a statement of responsibility from a technician.
  • Tower outside the house: needs a licence or prior notice, depending on the area.
  • The appliance: a lift (the legal Portuguese term is “ascensor”) that travels faster than 0.15 m/s follows Directive 2014/33/EU and should come with a CE mark, an EU declaration of conformity and instructions with a logbook.
  • After installation: the owner must have a maintenance contract with a company registered with the DGEG, and periodic inspection is up to the municipality.
  • We found no exception in the law for single-family houses. Confirm with your municipality.

First: what kind of work is it?

The building-works regime (RJUE, Decreto-Lei 555/99) was revised by Decreto-Lei 10/2024 and again by Decreto-Lei 108/2026 of 29 May. The latter enters into force on the first working day of the third month after publication, which by our count gives 3 August 2026. We read the RJUE text as republished in the annex to that decree-law.

Lift inside the house. Article 6(1)(b) exempts from a licence and from prior notice interior alterations to buildings that:

  1. have no exterior changes affecting height, façades, roofs or coverings; and
  2. do not affect stability or, if they do, come with a stability project and a statement of responsibility from a qualified technician, delivered for simple deposit with the notice of start of works.

Exempt does not mean free of rules. Under article 80-A, the promoter tells the municipality at least five days before starting, even for exempt works. And under article 6(8), the municipal plan, easements and technical standards still apply.

Lift outside, attached to the façade. This is not interior work: it is an “alteration” or an “extension” (article 2). Under article 4 it needs a licence, unless prior notice applies: for example, in an area with a detail plan, execution unit or subdivision that already fixes the parameters, or in a consolidated urban area, with conditions (paragraph 4, points d and e). Listed buildings or buildings in a protection zone need a licence (paragraph 2, point d).

A lift is not on the list of works of minor urban relevance (article 6-A), but a municipal regulation may add others. Ask the municipality: “What does this work, on this building, need?”

What the appliance must come with

Directive 2014/33/EU applies to lifts used permanently in buildings (article 1), with no distinction between a private home and a public building. It excludes appliances with a speed of 0.15 m/s or less. In Portugal it is applied by Decreto-Lei 58/2017. The DGEG says installations outside that regime follow Decreto-Lei 103/2008 (Machinery Directive 2006/42/EC).

With a lift under Directive 2014/33/EU, you should receive:

  • CE marking in the car, followed by the number of the notified body that did the final inspection (article 19).
  • An EU declaration of conformity, which goes with the lift (article 7(2)), and the notified body’s final inspection certificate (Annex V).
  • Instructions with drawings and diagrams and a logbook (Annex I, point 6.2), in a language you understand (article 7(7)).
  • In the car, a plate with the rated load and maximum number of persons (Annex I, point 5.1), and the installer’s name and address on the appliance (article 7(6)).

Under the machinery regime, the manufacturer supplies an instruction manual, a CE declaration and CE marking (Directive 2006/42/EC, article 5).

Pit, clearances and structure: questions, not recipes

We give no measurements. The directive states the principle: free space or a refuge beyond the car’s extreme positions and, in existing buildings, other solutions only with prior authorisation from the Member State (Annex I, point 2.2). The shaft may not contain pipes unrelated to the lift (article 6(2)). Ask the installer to explain in writing how this is met in your house.

After installation: maintenance and inspection

Decreto-Lei 320/2002 is the maintenance and inspection regime. The DGEG, on its page and in its December 2024 note, treats it as in force, partly amended by Lei 65/2013.

  • Mandatory maintenance by a registered company, recognised by the DGEG (Lei 65/2013). The owner is jointly liable (article 3).
  • Maintenance contract from commissioning; in the first year the installer provides maintenance unless released (article 4). The contract is “simple” or “full” (article 5).
  • Periodic inspection by the municipality or a recognised inspection body (articles 7 and 10). In the original 2002 text, residential buildings outside the special cases were inspected every six years and, after two inspections, every two years (article 8). A single-family house is not named; confirm the interval with your municipality.
  • Accidents are reported to the municipality within three days (article 9).

Questions for the installer

  1. Is it a lift under Directive 2014/33/EU or a machine? Which standard was used? (The DGEG mentions EN 81-20 and EN 81-50 for lifts.)
  2. Who is the notified body, and will I receive the certificate and declaration?
  3. Who deals with the municipality: is the work exempt or does it need a licence? Who signs the statement of responsibility?
  4. How are the pit bottom and the top clearance solved?
  5. Which company does the maintenance, under what type of contract, and is it registered with the DGEG?
  6. What electrical supply does it need, and who installs it?

To compare proposals see how to compare quotes. If you hesitate between a lift, a chair or a platform, read stair lift or platform or use the selection tool. The guides on VAT and income tax and on support cover stair lifts: check whether they apply to your case.

What we could not confirm

  • The current consolidated text of Decreto-Lei 320/2002. We read the 2002 original in a copy; the DGEG speaks of its “current wording”, so intervals may have changed. A commercial site cites Decreto-Lei 176/2024; we did not confirm it.
  • A special regime for houses. No source we read provides one or mentions houses.
  • The text of Decreto-Lei 58/2017. We used the directive and the DGEG.
  • Whether standards EN 81-41 and EN 81-42 apply. We did not see them in an official source.
  • Rules for platforms up to 0.15 m/s. We infer they are treated as machines; confirm with the installer.
  • The future lifts law. The DGEG says a new regime will replace Decreto-Lei 320/2002, with no date.
  • Municipal fees and prices, and any municipal regulations.

Sources (read on 3 November 2026)

Questions and answers

No, if the work is interior only, with no façade changes and no effect on the structure (RJUE, article 6(1)(b)). If it touches the structure, you need a stability project and a technician's statement of responsibility. You must tell the municipality five days before starting (article 80-A).

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