Last reviewed and updated: 27 September 2026
The short answer. The lift costs the same either way. What changes is the building work around it. Designed in at drawing stage, the void, joist trimming, pit and power supply are built once, and our estimate for the installation element is £2,000 to £5,000, absorbed into the build programme. A retrofit through a clear timber floor is typically £1,500 to £3,000 and one to three days on site, but concrete, beams or a pit push that to £5,000 to £15,000. Planning ahead also opens up screw-drive shaft lifts serving more than two floors. If you are not ready to fit a lift, frame a void and fill it with cupboards.
Where the difference actually sits
The through-floor cabin lifts that dominate UK retrofits (Stiltz, Lifton, Terry, Companion) were designed to need no shaft, pit or machine room, which is why a straightforward installation takes three to five days after order, and compact models one to three. In a new build that advantage shrinks, because the things that make retrofits expensive can be drawn out before anyone buys a joist.
| Element | Designed in at new build or extension stage | Retrofit into an existing floor |
|---|---|---|
| Floor aperture | Formed as a void on the structural drawings | Cut on site after a survey of joist direction and services |
| Joist trimming | Trimmer and trimming joists specified by the engineer and built once | Joists cut and a timber or steel frame added; concrete floors need calculations and temporary support |
| Pit | Recessed in the slab when it is poured, if the lift needs one | Avoided where possible; cutting a pit in a concrete slab is costly |
| Stacking on three or more floors | Voids aligned plumb on every floor, services routed elsewhere | Often impossible to align, so a through-floor lift serves two floors only |
| Electrics | Dedicated circuit run at first fix | Spur or new circuit added, sometimes chased into finished walls |
| Fire separation | Designed into the plan (see Approved Document B below) | Worked around the existing layout |
| Making good | None; finishes go on once | Ceiling, flooring and decoration on both floors |
The trimming and fire points are covered in more depth in our guide to Building Regulations for home lifts, and the on-site sequence in the installation process.
Pit or no pit
Through-floor lifts normally need no pit. Shaft and platform lifts often need a shallow one, and this is where planning ahead pays.
Aritco’s specification for its HomeLift (read 26 September 2026) gives a “Recessed installation with a 37 mm pit below floor, or installed directly on the floor with a ramp”, and a top height between 2,225mm and 4,000mm. Our Cibes page records a 50mm pit or none with a small ramp for most models, and a 100mm pit for the C1 Pure cabin lift. In a new slab a 37mm or 100mm recess is a line on a drawing. In an existing concrete ground floor it means cutting and possibly damp-proofing, and our installation cost page calls a pit in a concrete floor with a high water table “the most expensive small hole in this industry”. Retrofits usually take the ramp instead.
Structural trimming
Cutting through a floor means cutting joists. In a retrofit the installer trims the opening, then builds a frame so the floor carries the load the cut joists used to carry. Timber floors at standard centres with a clear run are the cheap case; a steel beam or a joist running the wrong way can move the lift to another room.
In a new build or extension the engineer sizes the trimmers from the start and can orient the joists so the void sits where the lift works best. Headroom is the same story: Aritco’s 2,225mm minimum top height is easy to design in and hard to find in a low cottage.
Stacking apertures across three floors
Every through-floor cabin lift on our comparison page serves two floors. For three or more, the Aritco and Cibes models there serve two to six. A shaft lift serving three storeys needs its openings stacked exactly plumb, and in an existing house there is often a soil stack, a chimney breast or a staircase in the way on one of the levels. A new-build plan can reserve that column of space on every floor.
Power supply
Stiltz, Lifton and Stannah’s Uplifts run from a standard 13A socket, according to our brand pages. Shaft lifts differ. Aritco lists 230V single-phase or 400V three-phase options; our Cibes page records a 230V 16A supply for its platform models and three-phase or a 32A single-phase supply for the C1 Pure. At new-build first fix, running a dedicated circuit to the lift position costs little. In a finished house, a three-phase requirement is a separate job with its own lead time.
What Approved Document M actually says about lifts
Approved Document M volume 1 (2015 edition, incorporating 2016 amendments) has three levels for dwellings. Only the first is mandatory.
| Requirement | When it applies | What it says about a lift inside the dwelling |
|---|---|---|
| M4(1) visitable | Default for new dwellings | Nothing on private lifts |
| M4(2) accessible and adaptable | Only where a planning condition requires it | No lift provision; the stair must have a minimum clear width of 850mm |
| M4(3)(2)(a) wheelchair adaptable | Only where a planning condition requires it | “It should be easy to install a lift”: a liftway space 1100mm wide and 1650mm long internally, which can be used for other purposes until then |
| M4(3)(2)(b) wheelchair accessible | Only where a planning condition requires it | “A suitable through-floor lift or lifting platform should be installed and commissioned” |
Paragraphs 3.27 to 3.29 cover the M4(3) provisions. For a wheelchair adaptable home, walls and floors within the liftway must be removable without structural alteration. For a wheelchair accessible home the document asks for a power socket for the lifting device, power-operated doors and a 1500mm turning circle at each level. Its note says that in a two-storey dwelling “the requirement can typically be met by a home lift to BS 5900 or lifting platforms to BS EN 81-41”.
M4(2) is still optional. The Centre for Ageing Better reported in December 2025 that the government proposes requiring at least 40% of new homes to meet it through planning policy, and Housing Digital reported in June 2026 that campaigners want it made the mandatory baseline instead. Check your planning consent for an M4(2) or M4(3) condition before the drawings are fixed.
Approved Document B: fire
For a house, Approved Document B volume 1 says: “A passenger lift serving any storey more than 4.5m above ground level should be in either of the following. a. The enclosure to the protected stairway … b. A fire resisting lift shaft (minimum REI 30).” A three-storey new build will usually trip that 4.5m line, so the lift position belongs on the fire strategy drawing from the first issue. Retrofit through-floor lifts between two storeys usually sit below it, but the floor opening must still keep the floor’s fire resistance.
Cost and programme compared
| New build or extension, designed in | Retrofit, simple (timber floor) | Retrofit, moderate (concrete or structural trimming) | Retrofit, complex (shaft, pit or three stops) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lift, installed (UK, 2026) | Through-floor £13,000–£28,000; electric £18,000–£40,000 | Same | Same | Same |
| Added installation and builder’s work (indicative) | £2,000–£5,000 | £1,500–£3,000 | £3,000–£6,000 | £5,000–£15,000 |
| Time on site | Absorbed into the build programme | 1–3 days | 1–2 weeks | 3–6 weeks |
| Making good | None | Some | Plastering, flooring | Several trades |
Builder’s work figures are UK Homelifts estimates reconciled on 3 September 2026 on our installation cost page; they are not published prices. Lead time from order is separate: Companion quotes eight to ten weeks. The new-build band is not always lower than a simple retrofit, because it often includes a designed shaft or pit. The saving comes from never landing in the moderate or complex columns.
Future-proofing a new build or extension
If nobody needs a lift yet, the M4(3) wheelchair adaptable approach works as a template even when it is not required. These are our suggestions, not requirements:
- Frame a void of at least 1100mm by 1650mm on both floors, with trimmers built in.
- Fill it with stacked cupboards whose floor is a knock-out panel, fixed so it lifts out without structural work.
- Run a dedicated circuit to a socket inside the upper cupboard.
- Keep soil pipes, radiators and the consumer unit out of the void and its landings.
- Put the void where both floors have a clear, level landing and a door route.
We found no published figure for the cost of a knock-out void, so ask your builder to price it as a separate line.
When a shaft lift suits new build better
A through-floor cabin lift is still the cheapest way to link two floors, and it drops into an M4(3) liftway. A screw-drive shaft or platform lift earns its place when the house has three or more storeys, when a wheelchair user needs a larger car (Aritco’s HomeLift Access starts at 1,300 by 1,160mm, per our comparison page), or when a flush pit is wanted with no ramp. It also has a longer published warranty: Aritco gives 5 years, against 12 months for Stiltz and Lifton. UK Homelifts does not sell, supply or install lifts; see the Aritco and Cibes pages for specifications.
Frequently asked questions
Is it cheaper to install a home lift in a new build?
The lift itself costs the same. What changes is the building work. Our estimate for designed-in installation is £2,000 to £5,000, absorbed into the build programme, against £1,500 to £3,000 for a simple retrofit through a timber floor and up to £15,000 for a complex retrofit. The saving is that a planned void avoids concrete cutting, pit excavation and making good twice.
Do Building Regulations require a lift in a new house?
Not by default. The only mandatory level, M4(1), says nothing about private lifts. Optional M4(3) applies only where a planning condition imposes it. A wheelchair adaptable home must make it easy to install a lift later, with a liftway space 1100mm wide and 1650mm long. A wheelchair accessible home must have a through-floor lift or lifting platform installed and commissioned.
Does a home lift need a pit?
Through-floor cabin lifts normally do not. Screw-drive shaft lifts usually need a shallow pit or a ramp instead. Aritco specifies a 37mm pit or a ramp for its HomeLift, and Cibes a 50mm pit or none on most models, with a 100mm pit for the C1 Pure. In a new slab a pit is easy to form; in an existing concrete floor it is expensive.
How do I future-proof a new build for a lift?
Frame a void on both floors, at least 1100mm by 1650mm as Approved Document M suggests for wheelchair adaptable homes, and use it for stacked cupboards with a removable floor panel. Run a dedicated electrical circuit to it, keep pipes and the consumer unit clear, and make sure both floors have a level landing in front.
Can a through-floor lift serve three floors?
Not from the brands we track. Stiltz and Lifton describe their through-floor lifts as called from either floor, meaning two. For three or more floors, the Aritco and Cibes screw-drive shaft lifts on our comparison page serve two to six floors, and a new build can stack their openings plumb from the start.
Next steps
- Get free quotes from installers covering your postcode at /quote/, with no commission. Share your drawings so they can comment on the void and pit.
- Price the lift and building work with the home lift cost calculator.
- Check funding with the grants checker.
Related guides
Sources
- Approved Document M volume 1: Dwellings, 2015 incorporating 2016 amendments (checked 26 September 2026)
- Approved Document B volume 1: Dwellings (checked 26 September 2026)
- Aritco HomeLift specifications, Aritco (checked 26 September 2026)
- Reaction to the government’s new accessible homes proposals, Centre for Ageing Better (checked 26 September 2026)
- Don’t water down accessibility rules, say campaigners, Housing Digital (checked 26 September 2026)
UK Homelifts is an independent information site. We do not sell, supply, install or service lifts and are not affiliated with any manufacturer. This page is general information, not building control, structural, legal or financial advice. Check your own design with your architect, structural engineer and building control body.
