Amherst, NY Building Safety: Elevator Maintenance (2026)

Section 151-81A requires that elevators, dumbwaiters, and escalators be maintained to sustain safely all imposed loads, operate properly, and remain free from physical and fire hazards, and that the most current certificate of inspection be displayed at or on the equipment, or kept available for public inspection in the building operator's office. Section 151-81B then imposes a service-continuity rule: in buildings equipped with passenger elevators, at least one elevator must be kept in operation at all times the building is occupied, with a narrow exception for buildings that have only one elevator, which may be taken temporarily out of service for testing or servicing.

These duties fall on the owner as part of Article VII's general maintenance obligations (§ 151-48B), enforced by the code official, the Commissioner of Building. A violation follows the § 151-53 notice process, requiring written notice describing the defect and a reasonable correction period, served personally, by mail, or posted on the property. Because elevators, escalators, and dumbwaiters sit within the mechanical/facilities portion of Article VII rather than the fire-safety article, a lapsed certificate or an inoperable elevator in an occupied multi-elevator building is treated the same as any other Article VII maintenance violation for penalty purposes.