Key takeaways
- LOLER is UK law that outlines requirements for anyone who owns, operates, or controls lifting equipment.
- A LOLER “thorough examination” is a formal safety check by a competent person, backed by a written report.
- Maintenance and servicing are not the same as a thorough examination.
- Unless you use an examination scheme, standard intervals are 6 months for lifting people (and lifting accessories) and 12 months for other lifting equipment.
- Where the public use lifts, HSE notes a similar regime can be “reasonably practicable” and insurers may expect stringent risk management for public liability.
What is LOLER compliance in the UK?
LOLER stands for the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998. The Health and Safety Executive describes it as placing duties on organisations that own, operate, or control lifting equipment, and requiring lifting operations to be properly planned, supervised, and carried out safely. You can read more about it in the HSE’s LOLER overview.
LOLER usually sits alongside PUWER (the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations). In simple terms: PUWER covers safe use and maintenance of work equipment; LOLER adds extra requirements when lifting is involved. The HSE’s Approved Code of Practice L113 should be your main reference on how to comply.
What counts as “lifting equipment” in social housing?
The most common LOLER touchpoints in housing are:
- Passenger lifts and combined goods/passenger lifts in blocks and schemes
- Goods lifts and lifting equipment used by maintenance teams and contractors
- Hoists or other lifting equipment used to lift people as part of work activities
- Lifting accessories (attachments used to anchor, fix, or support lifting equipment)
HSE’s leaflet for lift owners is explicit: Regulation 9 of LOLER requires lifts to be thoroughly examined by a competent person at regular intervals. See Thorough examination and testing of lifts (INDG339).
What a “thorough examination” actually is (and isn’t)
Under LOLER, a thorough examination is a systematic, detailed check of the equipment and safety-critical parts by a competent person, followed by a written report that includes defects and the next due date. See the HSE guide to thorough examinations of lifting equipment.
Two practical points for housing teams:
- The competent person needs appropriate knowledge and independence. They can be in-house or external, but they should be impartial and not the same person doing routine maintenance.
- Most lifting equipment does not need routine load testing as part of every thorough examination; it is risk-based.
How often do LOLER thorough examinations happen?
If you don’t have a written examination scheme, the standard intervals are as follows:
- Every 6 months for lifting equipment (and associated accessories) used to lift people, and all lifting accessories
- Every 12 months for all other lifting equipment
Those intervals are also reflected in Regulation 9 of LOLER, which sets minimum frequencies and also covers re-examination after “exceptional circumstances” that could jeopardise safety.
Why LOLER matters in social housing
LOLER risk is not theoretical in housing. When a lift is out, residents feel it immediately. When a lift is unsafe, the consequences can include injury, enforcement attention, and an uncomfortable audit trail.
Just as importantly, LOLER is an evidence-driven regime. The government’s guidance ties compliance to planned examinations, competent reporting, and record keeping.
It also links to insurance compliance. Where equipment is used by the public, insurers may impose demands for similarly stringent risk management to cover public liability.
A quick LOLER checklist for housing providers
- Maintain an asset list that separates “lifts people” from “lifts loads” so the interval is clear.
- Name the dutyholder per asset (including shared or communal equipment).
- Schedule statutory thorough examinations (or document your examination scheme).
- Store reports against the asset, including next due dates and defect actions.
- Treat defect actions as compliance-critical, not “nice to have”.
If you’re pulling LOLER into a wider insurance compliance strategy, it might be worth checking out how technology plays into these requirements. Our insurance inspections compliance page gives you some more information about what that looks like for organisations.
