Will the new law free the fourth floor prisoners?

The Ministry of Development and Technology has presented a draft law that will strongly change the rules regarding the installation of elevators - no longer five, but two floors will be enough to make the installation of a passenger lift in a residential building mandatory. The changes will also partially cover existing buildings, thus affecting the cooperatives that manage them. Will the new law free the "prisoners of the fourth floor"? The reality may not be so rosy.

Although the term "fourth-floor prisoners," describing elderly people living on the upper floors of blocks of flats without an elevator, appeared in online circulation in 2017, not much has changed since then [1].Some municipalities have pledged to install additional elevators in buildings belonging to municipal assets - such local governments include, for example, Warsaw, which managed to install elevators in dozens of blocks, or Krakow, which announced the installation of 10 elevators in municipal blocks in February this year. Even if the plan were carried out (because so far the municipality has not reported on further progress), it would be a drop in the ocean of needs. The problem, which is widespread throughout Poland, requires a systemic solution - will the new law definitely solve it?

new law, new obligations

The draft amendments to the Construction Law were published on June 13, 2025. In addition to numerous changes regarding energy efficiency issues, it makes it mandatory for three groups of buildings to be equipped with a passenger lift:

1) public utilities having two or more floors;
2) collective residence having two or more floors;
3) multi-family residential having three or more floors.

The law provides some exceptions and variations on how passenger lifts will be installed - they will be able to stop at mezzanines, for example, as long as access to full floors is provided, for example, by means of an additional elevator installed at the stairwell walls.

Many blocks of flats with less than five floors still do not have an elevator

Photo: Kirklai © Unsplash Free

An elevator in every block? not so fast

However, the law (in this case - unfortunately) is not retroactive. The draft law requires elevators to be designed in buildings that meet the criteria mentioned in the previous paragraph, but not all large-panel buildings will have to be equipped with elevators right away. In the case of existing buildings, the obligation to install a passenger lift arises when significant design or construction work will be carried out within the building - for example, in the case of a change of use, a major renovation, or an addition or remodeling. In practice, this means that most people "trapped" on the fourth floor will still remain slaves to their premises.

According to the new bill, forks can provide access to mezzanines - in which case it will be necessary to install a platform

photo: Sabinevanerp © Pixabay

How to install an elevator in a large slab?

In the case of many large slab buildings (but also townhouses, which are often the subject of superstructures), the installation of an elevator not envisioned by the designers can be quite a challenge. The limitation is primarily the area of the stairwells, which often barely meets the regulations for fire protection, leaving no room for modifications.

In such situations, external elevators, attached to the perimeter walls of buildings, become the solution. Such structures can be adjacent to the buildings or offset from them, leading to the stairwells by means of small footbridges or walkways. This type of solution can work well for townhouses, where on the courtyard side easy installation of the elevator is complicated by the varying contours of the building and outbuildings added to the main body.

Who will pay for elevators in blocks of flats?

In comments on online posts about the new law, doubts quickly arose about the sources of funding for the installation of elevators - it is difficult to point to a single source of such an attitude, both the proverbial "social desensitization", lack of education, and the still not-so-good economic situation in our country probably play their part. Will the installation of additional elevators really hit Poles' pockets?

Currently, the installation of an elevator in a building where no such facility has previously been provided is an expense of several hundred thousand zlotys - the Ministry of Development and Technology estimates that prices can start as high as 540 thousand zlotys. In the case of historic buildings, such as 19th-century tenements, the costs can be even higher. Many of the cooperatives may not be able to afford such an investment. However, this does not mean that the communities are left alone with such an expense. In the document presenting the Regulatory Impact Assessment, the Ministry of Development and Technology says that in the case of installing an elevator, cooperatives can count on subsidies from two sources - the Accessibility Fund (financed by Bank Gospodarstwa Krajowego), which will cover up to40% of the cost of installing an elevator, and the State Fund for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities, if the building provides two units for people with mobility disabilities.

Installing an elevator in an old apartment building can be a challenge

Photo: Charles Deluvio © Unsplash Free

lease elevator

Interestingly, the private sector is also extending a helping hand by offering an elevator leasing service. In practice, this means that a cooperative pays a lease installment for a set period of time, which helps spread the cost for communities that lack the creditworthiness or cash to purchase an elevator. Importantly, at the end of the lease period, the elevator becomes the property of the cooperative. In practice, the cost of such an elevator can be minimized to an installment of several thousand zlotys per month. Such a service is offered, for example, by the Factory of Crane Equipment in Bolęcin - with its help the Warsaw cooperative "Lazurowa" installed 8 new elevators in blocks of flats from the 1970s, paying for them 2,500 zlotys a month.

each of us will benefit at some point

While the initial costs may seem high, it is worth considering that for people who are young, healthy and fully functional today, the construction of elevators in large-panel blocks and other storied multifamily buildings can also be a profitable investment. With the passing of time, our health is disappearing. Polish society is inexorably aging - if demographic indicators do not change (and there is no indication of this, because the aging of societies is a trend observed throughout Europe), the number of people who will need an elevator in the future will increase significantly. According to forecasts by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Poland will be the oldest European country in 2060. Depending on the province, over 65 years of age will then be from 30 to as much as 37% of the population - a significant change, although almost 1/4 of Polish citizens and nationals are already 60+ [2]. It is also futile to expect that by then the standard in which we will live will have changed significantly. According to the latest predictions, blocks of large slab buildings will serve at least until 2060 or 2080 [3].

For people with mobility disabilities, even a few stairs can be an insurmountable barrier

Photo: Sgenet © Pixabay

Who is an elevator for?

According to statistics from 2022, 2.2 million people in Poland were collecting disability benefits. It is estimated that about 45% of them face mobility disabilities - that's more than a million people who have mobility problems. For such groups, having an elevator in a block of flats is a necessity, and the term "fourth-floor inmates" seems insufficiently capacious. When moving in a wheelchair, with a walker or with a cane, even a half-floor can be an insurmountable obstacle.

Disability, however, is not limited to groups on disability benefits and those permanently struggling with all sorts of difficulties. As she mentions in her latest book "For Whom is the City?" Magdalena Milert, disability is also a time when we twist an ankle, are dragging, or our body is failing for a variety of different, often mundane reasons [4]. At such times, an elevator can also be an invaluable aid. Even if the new legal changes will not be binding for a significant part of Polish cooperatives, why not take matters into your own hands, take advantage of available subsidy programs and invest in a secure future and a better standard of living for people for whom their own apartment has become a prison?

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[1] https://magazynpismo.pl/rzeczywistosc/reportaz/wiezniowie-czwartego-pietra/

[2] M. Potyra, K. Góral-Radziszewska, K. Waśkiewicz, E. Gawińska-Drużba, Population forecast for 2023-2060, 2022, p. 46.

[3] https://bezprawnik.pl/wielka-plyta-ile-przetrwa/

[4] M. Milert, For whom is the city? How to create a space that cares about us, 2025, pp. 81-82