Youngstown, OH Building Safety: Elevator Maintenance (2026)

Youngstown Codified Ordinances Section 546.04(90) requires that elevators, dumbwaiters and escalators be maintained to sustain safely all imposed loads, operate properly, and remain free from physical and fire hazards. The most current certificate of inspection must be on display at all times within the elevator, attached to the escalator or dumbwaiter, or otherwise available for public inspection in the office of the building operator, so an inspector or tenant can verify compliance without waiting for a City visit. Section 546.04(91) goes further for passenger elevators specifically: in buildings equipped with passenger elevators, at least one elevator must be maintained in operation at all times the building is occupied, protecting occupants, including those with mobility needs, from being left without vertical access during business hours.

The only carve-out is for buildings with just a single elevator, which may take that elevator out of service temporarily for testing or servicing under the stated exception, recognizing that a one-elevator building cannot always keep a unit running during required maintenance. These provisions sit within the General Property Maintenance section of Chapter 546, so they are enforced through the same Code Official inspection and notice process as other building conditions: exterior inspection needs no consent, a documented violation triggers a written Notice of Violation under Section 546.06, and the owner or operator can appeal to the Property Maintenance Appeals Board under Section 546.09 within 15 days.