Berkeley, CA Building Safety: Elevator Maintenance (2026)

020). 030 puts the duty on the building operator, defined as the owner, lessor, or managing agent, to keep the elevator accessible, usable, and in good working order at all times, and voids any lease clause that tries to shift that liability to an elevator service company. 040 spells out the mechanics: operators must run a regular maintenance program, require their service company to give immediate notice of repairs lasting more than four hours, and complete any repair or servicing within 24 hours except where circumstances beyond the operator's control prevent it.

Where a delay beyond 24 hours is genuinely outside the operator's control, the operator must locate and pay for decent, safe, sanitary alternative housing, without stairs, for any resident whose physical disability, medical condition, illness, or infirmity means they need the elevator to get in or out of their unit; the cost is capped at $180 per day or $1,800 total, a rate that has increased annually since January 1, 2018 by the Bay Area Consumer Price Index. 050 requires posted notice at every floor and separate written notice to disabled tenants whenever the elevator goes down for maintenance or an unanticipated repair. 040(E) that a failure to repair or house tenants under this chapter is a public nuisance.