Oakland, CA Building Safety: Elevator Maintenance (2026)

030 covers any building with three or more residential units that has an elevator, exempting hospitals, skilled nursing and health facilities, hotels, motels and similar short-term accommodations, and elevators that were already non-operational and never offered to a current resident as of the Chapter's July 30, 2024 adoption. 050 imposes a general duty that elevators remain accessible, usable and in good working order at all times the building is occupied, while shielding the operator's elevator service contractor from liability under the Chapter. 060 breaks the duty into three parts: regular maintenance, with immediate notice from the service company of any outage exceeding four hours; expeditious repair, capped at 24 hours from notice of the malfunction; and, if repair takes longer than 24 hours, temporary alternative housing for any resident whose access or egress is substantially restricted because of a physical disability, medical condition, illness or health impairment and who cannot use the stairs.

The alternative housing must be decent, safe, sanitary, accessible and within reasonable distance, paid for by the operator including transport, and a resident can instead arrange their own lodging and get reimbursed within 48 hours, capped at $250 per night unless a higher amount is reasonable and necessary, with that cap rising each January 1 starting 2026 by the Bay Area CPI. 070 requires 48-hour advance written notice of scheduled maintenance posted by the elevator and to residents individually if the outage exceeds four hours, plus immediate notice for unanticipated breakdowns. 080 requires landlords to disclose the ordinance to tenants at lease signing.