Resale and moving · 28 listings and 11 makers checked · 7 October 2026
Will a home lift add to your house price, or put buyers off, and can you take it with you? On 7 October 2026, 28 homes for sale on Zoopla described a home lift in the listing. Two offered to take it out. Six of 11 home lift makers say a lift adds value, but only one puts a number on it, and it gives no source.
The short answer
- There is no evidence that a home lift raises a sale price. No independent UK study measures it. Aritco’s “up to 10%” is the only figure from a maker, and it cites nothing.
- Lifts sit in big houses. The median asking price of the 28 homes was £540,000, about twice the £273,000 UK average for July 2026. That reflects who fits lifts, not what a lift adds.
- Taking one out is cheap next to a house price. Removal with the ceiling opening rebuilt is published at £1,200 to £1,500, about 0.2% to 0.3% of that median asking price.
- “Take it with you” is harder than it sounds. Stiltz and Lifton say you can, but the rails are cut to your old ceiling height, and no maker publishes a price for moving a lift.
- A used lift is worth little. Second-hand lifts resold for roughly 30 to 35% of their installed price in our August 2026 capture, and we found no UK firm that buys them back.
Does a home lift add value to a house?
Not in any way anyone has measured. We looked for an independent UK study, an estate agent valuation analysis or a portal data set that compares homes with and without a lift, and found none. What exists is maker marketing and one survey figure that we could not trace to its source.
The makers. Six of the 11 UK home lift makers we checked say on their own websites that a lift adds value: Lifton, Cibes, Aritco, Pollock, Terry Lifts (in a blog post) and Stannah’s lifts site. Only Aritco gives a figure: “A home lift can increase the value of your home by up to 10%.” Aritco’s page does not say where the figure comes from. Lifton is more careful: “it has been known for a domestic lift to add value”.
The survey nobody can find. Many lift sellers repeat that an estate agent, Strutt & Parker, found 5% of buyers would like a home lift. Earlier versions of this page repeated it too. We could not find that figure in any Strutt & Parker report or press release we opened, only in other sellers’ articles quoting it, so we have removed it.
What that leaves. For most buyers a lift is neutral, and it can count against a house if it takes space from a bedroom or looks dated. For a buyer who needs step-free access, it can decide the sale: a house that already has a lift saves them the work, the wait and the cost of fitting one.
What each home lift maker says about value and removal
| Maker | Removing it or taking it with you | Property value | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stiltz | “simple to remove, and you can take it with you if you move house. The aperture can be reversed and sealed easily.” | Nothing found | Source ↗ |
| Lifton | “simple to remove and you can take it with you if you decide to move house.” | “it has been known for a domestic lift to add value to the property” | Source ↗ |
| Companion | “It is possible to remove the homelift and return the property to its original state with minimum fuss.” No mention of moving it. | Nothing found | Source ↗ |
| Aritco | Nothing found | “A home lift can increase the value of your home by up to 10%.” No source given. | Source ↗ |
| Cibes | Nothing found | “they can increase your property value”, and “you can sell for a greater price” | Source ↗ |
| Pollock | Nothing found | “Lifts are a great investment and can add value to your home.” | Source ↗ |
| Terry Lifts | Nothing found | A 2024 blog post: home lifts fit into any property, “significantly increasing its value”. Nothing on its FAQ. | Source ↗ Source ↗ |
| Stannah | Nothing found (home lift pages would not load) | Its lifts site: lifts “add value and enhance your home” | Source ↗ |
| Gartec | Nothing found | Nothing found | Source ↗ |
| SWIFT | Nothing found | Nothing found | Source ↗ |
| Wessex Lifts | Nothing found | Nothing found | Source ↗ |
Read in a browser on 7 October 2026. “Nothing found” means we found nothing on the topic on the maker’s FAQ, home lift and buying pages. No maker publishes a price for removing or moving a lift, and none offers to buy one back.
What 28 homes for sale with a home lift show
On 7 October 2026 we searched every UK home for sale on Zoopla for listings that mention a through-floor lift, home lift, domestic lift or Stiltz lift by name, read each listing in full and kept the 28 homes where the agent describes a lift inside the house. Shared lifts in blocks of flats, and one house with only space set aside for a lift, are left out.
| Area | Property | Asking price | Lift, as the agent describes it | Removal offered? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liverpool L4 | 2-bed semi | £155,000 | Through-floor lift, lounge to main bedroom | Yes: “can be removed if requested, or can be sold with the property” |
| Leeds LS14 | 3-bed semi | £250,000 | Recently fitted Stiltz through-floor lift | Not mentioned |
| Patrington, Hull HU12 | 3-bed terrace | £270,000 | Stiltz lift | Not mentioned |
| Alwoodley, Leeds LS17 | 3-bed town house | £270,000 | Through-floor lift | Yes: “can be removed prior to completion if preferred” |
| Heacham, Norfolk PE31 | 3-bed semi | £270,000 | Stiltz lift, “suitable for a wide range of buyers” | Not mentioned |
| Birmingham B24 | 3-bed semi | £300,000 | Through-floor lift and ramped access | Not mentioned |
| Long Eaton NG10 | 4-bed semi | £300,000 | Through-floor lift with track hoist | Not mentioned |
| Dunoon PA23 | 4-bed detached | £325,000 | Private elevator to the upper floor | Not mentioned |
| Irby, Wirral CH61 | 3-bed detached | £400,000 | Home lift, dining room to main bedroom | Not mentioned |
| Ramsgate CT11 | Mixed-use building | £425,000 | Stiltz lift in an upper duplex flat | Not mentioned |
| Acklington, Northumberland NE65 | 3-bed terrace | £425,000 | Stiltz lift serving all floors | Not mentioned |
| Exeter EX4 | 3-bed bungalow | £425,000 | Stiltz Duo lift down to the garage | Not mentioned |
| Kirkcudbright DG6 | 6-bed terrace | £500,000 | Stiltz Duo Classic home lift | Not mentioned |
| Weymouth DT4 | 4-bed detached | £530,000 | Through-floor lift | Not mentioned |
| Potter Heigham, Norfolk NR29 | 3-bed detached | £550,000 | Home lift | Not mentioned |
| Kilve, Somerset TA5 | 4-bed detached | £650,000 | Stiltz walk-in lift, study to bedroom | Not mentioned |
| North Witham NG33 | 5-bed detached | £650,000 | Stiltz lift, “fully serviced” | Not mentioned |
| Didcot OX11 | 4-bed detached | £650,000 | Domestic lift, wheelchair accessible | Not mentioned |
| Edgware HA8 | 5-bed semi | £800,000 | Stiltz home lift, lounge to main bedroom | Not mentioned |
| St Mellion, Cornwall PL12 | 5-bed detached | £950,000 | Aritco domestic lift | Not mentioned |
| Milton Keynes MK5 | 5-bed detached | £950,000 | Domestic lift, study to bedroom | Not mentioned |
| Cockfosters EN4 | 4-bed detached | £985,000 | Wheelchair-sized lift to the first floor | Not mentioned |
| Draycott DE72 | 7-bed detached | £1,000,000 | Stiltz lift | Not mentioned |
| Ewshot, Farnham GU10 | 4-bed detached | £1,100,000 | Domestic lift in the kitchen | Not mentioned |
| Welwyn AL6 | 4-bed detached | £1,250,000 | Stiltz lift, “lifetime guarantee in place for the new owners” | Not mentioned |
| Chichester PO19 | 3-bed detached | £1,500,000 | Stiltz home lift off the hall | Not mentioned |
| Wetherby LS22 | 5-bed detached | £1,850,000 | Stiltz lift from the study | Not mentioned |
| Follifoot, Harrogate HG3 | 6-bed barn conversion (new) | £2,350,000 | Stiltz domestic lift off the hall | Not mentioned |
Source: Zoopla listings read 7 October 2026. Asking prices, not sale prices. Two listings for the same house (Edgware) and one house listed with and without an adjoining bungalow (St Mellion) are counted once. Street names are left out.
What the listings show
- Lifts are in expensive houses. The median asking price is £540,000, about twice the £273,000 UK average price for July 2026 (ONS). 13 of the 28 are asking £650,000 or more. Big houses with money spent on them get lifts, so this is not evidence that a lift adds value.
- Agents sell the lift as a feature. None of the 28 describes it as a drawback. Heacham’s agent says the lift makes the home “suitable for a wide range of buyers”.
- Two of 28 offer to take it out. Liverpool: “can be removed if requested, or can be sold with the property”. Leeds LS17: “can be removed prior to completion if preferred”. Both are under £300,000.
- Stiltz is named in 15 of the 28. Buyers, and agents, know the brand.
- Two mention aftercare. One lift is “fully serviced”; another has a “lifetime guarantee in place for the new owners”. Servicing records are worth putting in the pack.
When you sell: keep it, remove it or take it with you
Leave it in
Cost: nothing
Best if your buyers are likely to be older or need step-free access, or the lift takes little space. List it on the fittings form, hand over the manual and service records, and say whether any warranty passes on.
Offer to remove it
Cost: £1,200 to £1,500 with the opening rebuilt
Best if the lift takes space a family buyer wants. Do what two of our 28 agents did: say in the listing that it can be removed before completion. Get a removal quote so a buyer knows it is cheap.
Take it with you
Cost: not published by any maker
Only worth pricing if the lift is young and the new home suits the same model. You pay to remove it here, rebuild the opening, cut a new one there, and refit with new rails. Compare the quote with a new or reconditioned lift.
How much it costs to remove a home lift
One UK firm prints its prices: Home Lift Removals. For Wessex, Stiltz, Pollock, AMP, Stannah and Terry through-floor lifts it charges by region. “Remove only” takes the lift away and makes good any holes drilled to the outside. “Remove and aperture reinstate” adds new floor joists, chipboard flooring and plasterboard across the opening, which “leaves the aperture ready for plaster and paint”; plastering and decorating are yours to arrange (Home Lift Removals).
| Region | Remove only | Remove and rebuild the opening |
|---|---|---|
| South UK | £900 | £1,200 |
| East and South Kent | £1,050 | £1,350 |
| Devon | £1,050 | £1,350 |
| Midlands | £1,050 | £1,350 |
| South Wales | £1,050 | £1,350 |
| Northamptonshire | £1,200 | £1,350 |
| Cornwall | £1,200 | £1,500 |
| Suffolk and Norfolk | £1,200 | £1,500 |
| Cumbria and North East | £1,200 | £1,500 |
| West Wales | £1,200 | £1,500 |
| Merseyside and Manchester | £1,200 | £1,500 |
| South and West Yorkshire | £1,200 | £1,500 |
| North Yorkshire and Humberside | £1,200 | £1,500 |
Read 7 October 2026. Home Lift Removals says “We are currently not VAT Registered”, so the quoted price is the final price. Other makes are priced on request.
What removal would cost you
Pick your region and, if you like, your asking price. We show the published removal price and what it comes to as a share of your sale.
Without JavaScript: in the South UK region, removal costs £900, or £1,200 with the opening rebuilt. Elsewhere it is £1,050 to £1,200, or £1,350 to £1,500. On a £540,000 house, £1,500 is 0.28% of the asking price.
Building control. We found no official guidance that deals with removing a home lift. Rebuilding an opening means new joists in your floor, so ask your building control body whether it wants a notice before work starts, and ask the remover whether its work meets current building regulations (GOV.UK). Home Lift Removals tells customers to ask any remover for that in writing.
Can you take a home lift with you when you move?
Two makers say yes. Stiltz: “you can take it with you if you move house”. Lifton: “you can take it with you if you decide to move house” (Stiltz, Lifton). Neither publishes what that costs, and the only firm that prints removal prices explains why it will not refit a lift: “the rails/tracks for their lift are cut bespoke so new rails/tracks would be required”, and depending on the model “various new parts and a full refurbishment” are needed before refitting (Home Lift Removals).
So a move means paying for all of this:
- Removal at the old house, and usually rebuilding the opening there before you sell: £1,200 to £1,500 published.
- A new ceiling opening at the new house. The building work is the same as for a new lift; see installation cost.
- New rails cut to the new ceiling height, any new parts and a refurbishment.
- Fitting, testing and a building notice, as for a new lift; see how long installation takes.
Set that against the alternatives. A new through-floor lift is advertised from about £13,000 before VAT (price tracker), and reconditioned lifts installed by a trade refurbisher with a warranty ran to about £9,500 to £12,500 when we last captured the market (reconditioned lifts). If the move quote comes close to either, a lift built for the new house is the better buy. If you have a disability, a new lift may also qualify for 0% VAT.
Selling a used home lift
You can, but expect little back. When we captured every second-hand home lift advertised in the UK in August 2026, resale prices came out at roughly 30 to 35% of the original installed cost, and private supply-only sales mostly fetched £1,500 to £4,000. The buyer usually pays to collect and refit it. We found no UK firm that buys back used home lifts. The buy-back services we found cover stairlifts only, and Home Lift Removals’ homepage says “PLEASE DO NOT ASK US TO BUY LIFTS”. Details are in our reconditioned lift guide.
Moving, or deciding before you buy?
If you are moving to a house without a lift, or weighing a lift against moving at all, tell us about the home and we’ll pass your details to installers who cover your area. Ask each one for a new-lift price and, if you own a lift already, what it would charge to move it. It’s free, with no obligation.
If a grant paid for the lift
You may have to repay part of it. In England a council can ask an owner-occupier who sells within 10 years to repay part of a Disabled Facilities Grant. South Ribble’s policy sets out the national rule: “The amount that may be recovered is the amount of grant paid above £5000 up to a maximum of £10,000”, and the condition is “recorded as a Local Land Charge” (South Ribble; the rule is the 2008 General Consent, GOV.UK). Government guidance asks councils to consider not demanding repayment where it would cause financial hardship or the move is for work, health, or to give or receive care (GOV.UK guidance, para 3.25).
The lift is normally yours. Walsall Council’s policy says lifts provided through a grant are “the legal property and responsibility of the applicant”, and that if a resident cannot fund removal of a through-floor lift the council may arrange it, with the cost possibly “land charged against the property” (Walsall Council). Policies differ, so ask your council.
The council may want it back. The same guidance asks councils to consider how stairlifts and homelifts “can be reclaimed, refurbished and recycled”, including “Reclaiming lifts to the local community equipment store”. Before you pay to have a grant-funded lift removed, ask the council if it will collect it. More on the grant in our grants guide.
Selling a house with a home lift: a checklist
- Describe the lift properly in the listing. Make and model, which rooms it links, and when it was last serviced.
- Say whether it can go. “Can be removed before completion if preferred” costs you nothing to write and answers the obvious question.
- Get a removal quote in advance so a buyer can see it is about £1,200 to £1,500, not a building project.
- Gather the paperwork: manual, commissioning record, service history, any building notice completion certificate and warranty terms. Aritco, for one, ties its warranty to installation and servicing by an Aritco partner and to service records being available (Aritco).
- List it on the fittings and contents form as included or excluded, so there is no argument at completion.
- Check for a grant land charge if a Disabled Facilities Grant paid for it in the last 10 years.
If you are fitting a lift and worried about resale
Choose a through-floor lift that removes cleanly rather than a shaft built into the house, and put it where it takes the least from a bedroom; our space guide lists the footprint of 29 lifts. Keep every service record. If cost is the worry rather than resale, compare the lift with the cost of care in our lift versus care guide and check grants and VAT relief first.
Home lifts, resale and moving: questions
Does a home lift add value to a house?
No independent UK study shows that it does. Six of the 11 home lift makers we checked say a lift adds value, but only Aritco puts a number on it (up to 10%) and it gives no source. In our capture of 28 homes for sale with a home lift, the lifts were mostly in large, expensive houses, which tells you who fits them, not what they add. Treat a lift as neutral to a typical buyer and a strong plus to a buyer who needs one.
Will a home lift put buyers off?
It can put off a buyer who does not need it, especially if it takes space from a bedroom. Through-floor lifts can be taken out and the ceiling closed: Home Lift Removals prints £1,200 to £1,500 for removal with the opening rebuilt, ready for plaster and paint. Two of the 28 listings we read offered to remove the lift before completion.
Can I take my home lift with me when I move?
Stiltz and Lifton say you can. In practice the rails are cut to fit your old ceiling height, so expect new rails, a refurbishment, a new ceiling opening at the new house and a new installation. No maker publishes a price for moving a lift, and Home Lift Removals does not reinstall lifts. Ask the maker for a written relocation quote and compare it with a new or reconditioned lift.
How much does it cost to remove a home lift?
Home Lift Removals publishes £900 to £1,200 to remove a through-floor lift, or £1,200 to £1,500 to remove it and rebuild the ceiling opening with new joists, chipboard and plasterboard, depending on region. Plastering and painting are extra. It says it is not VAT registered, so those are final prices.
Can I sell a used home lift?
Yes, but for a fraction of its cost. When we captured the UK second-hand market in August 2026, used lifts resold for roughly 30 to 35% of their original installed price, and private supply-only sales mostly fetched £1,500 to £4,000. We found no UK firm that buys back used home lifts, only stairlifts.
Do I have to repay a Disabled Facilities Grant if I sell?
Possibly. In England a council can ask an owner-occupier who sells within 10 years to repay the part of a grant above £5,000, up to a maximum of £10,000, and it is registered as a local land charge. The council must weigh hardship, moves for work or health and moves to give or receive care before deciding.
Who owns a lift paid for by a Disabled Facilities Grant?
In a privately owned home, usually you do. Walsall Council’s policy, for example, says lifts provided through a grant are “the legal property and responsibility of the applicant”. Some councils will take a lift back to reuse it, and government guidance asks councils to consider reclaiming lifts for refurbishment and reuse, so ask yours before you sell.
How we checked this. On 7 October 2026 we read the FAQ, home lift and buying pages of 11 UK home lift makers (Stiltz, Lifton, Companion, Aritco, Cibes, Pollock, Terry Lifts, Stannah, Gartec, SWIFT and Wessex Lifts) in a browser and recorded every statement about removal, moving a lift and property value. Stannah’s home lift pages would not load, so its row uses its lifts site. We searched Zoopla’s UK for-sale listings for the exact phrases “through floor lift”, “through-floor lift”, “home lift”, “domestic lift”, “homelift”, “Stiltz” and “Lifton” (the last mostly returns the Devon village), read every result outside the Devon village in full (40 listings) and kept the 28 homes with a lift inside the house. Zoopla’s keyword search will miss listings that describe a lift in other words, so treat 28 as a floor. Removal prices are from Home Lift Removals’ prices and FAQ pages; grant rules from GOV.UK and the council policies linked above. Resale prices for used lifts come from our August 2026 capture of the UK second-hand market.
What we could not find. An independent study of home lifts and house prices, the primary source of the Strutt & Parker figure, any maker’s price for moving a lift, and any UK firm that buys used home lifts.
Independence. UK Homelifts is an independent guide, not a lift maker, estate agent or financial adviser. No company on this page paid to be included. If you ask for quotes through us, we pass your details to installers.
Related
Home lift prices · Reconditioned lifts · Grants · VAT relief · Lift versus care · Home insurance · Installation
Compiled by the UK Homelifts research team. Listings, maker statements and removal prices checked 7 October 2026. We recheck them every quarter.