On this page
View In PDFNo, neither HDB's EASE nor EASE (Private) pays for a stairlift or home lift between floors. The closest thing is HDB's wheelchair lifter for main entrances with two or more steps, offered only if no ramp works. If you own your flat, HDB's EASE page, updated in July 2026, puts your share of its S$5,995 cost at S$299.75 to S$749.35.
The Honest Headline First
EASE, short for Enhancement for Active Seniors, is the government's subsidy for fittings that make it safer for seniors to get around at home. It pays for things like grab bars, ramps and a slip-resistant coating on your existing bathroom floor, but neither version covers a stairlift or a home lift.
Each version looks for someone in your household who's 65 or over, or 60 to 64 and needs help with at least one daily activity such as bathing, dressing or moving around. Each also has its own citizenship and housing rules, and which one applies depends on whether you live in an HDB flat or a private home.
| Your question | HDB's EASE | EASE (Private) |
|---|---|---|
| Will it pay for a stairlift or home lift? | No | No |
| What can it fit at your front door? | A handrail, grab bars and ramps, or a wheelchair lifter when no ramp will work | A handrail for steps, grab bars, or a ramp over a single step |
| What can it fit in the bathroom? | Grab bars, a non-slip floor treatment, a foldable shower seat, a bidet spray, and a lower kerb or wider doorway | Grab bars, a non-slip floor treatment, a foldable shower seat and a bidet spray |
| What else can it fit? | Rocker light switches, a home fire alarm and a ramp over a single step inside your flat | A home fire alarm and a ramp over a single step inside your home |
| What do you pay? | A share set by your flat type, or nothing if you're a senior in a rental flat | 25% of the cost, and the full cost once the vouchers run out |
| How do you apply? | With the Home Improvement Programme, or online through the EASE e-Service or the MyHDB app | On the EASE (Private) website; invitations come by letter and SMS |
Use EASE for the fittings it covers, and budget for a stairlift or home lift as your own purchase.
HDB EASE for HDB flats
HDB's EASE comes with the Home Improvement Programme, or you can apply for it on its own through EASE (Direct Application) if your block doesn't qualify for that programme or you'd rather not wait.
Direct Application is open to you if you're a Singapore Citizen household in a flat you own or a registered tenant of a rental flat, and a family member is 65 or over, or 60 to 64 and needs help with at least one daily activity.
HDB offers a wheelchair lifter only when no ramp will work
If your main entrance has two or more steps, HDB first offers a portable ramp, then a custom-made ramp if a portable one isn't feasible. The wheelchair lifter comes in only when no ramp will work, and HDB recommends ramps and the lifter for seniors who use a wheelchair.
Under HDB's cost table as of July 2026, the lifter costs S$5,995 before the subsidy, and your share including GST is S$299.75 for a 1, 2 or 3-room flat, S$449.60 for a 4-room, S$599.50 for a 5-room and S$749.35 for an Executive flat.
You may also need to replace or modify your metal gate at your own cost before the lifter goes in. HDB's contractor checks the site and advises you before going ahead.
The lifter needs regular servicing for safety. After the contractor's one-year warranty, HDB's July 2026 terms put maintenance at up to S$152.60 a year for at least the second and third years, then twice-yearly servicing at up to S$261.60 a year, both indicative rates including GST and excluding replacement parts.
If even your share is hard to pay, HDB suggests asking a social service agency for help. The agency checks your household's finances first, and any help depends on meeting its criteria.
EASE (Private) for private homes
As of October 2026, EASE (Private) gives your household S$1,200 in vouchers if it's eligible, and they pay 75% of the cost of the fittings you choose from the programme's appointed contractors. You pay the other 25%, and once the vouchers are used up, you pay the full cost of anything else.
For steps, the EASE (Private) catalogue offers a handrail at an entrance with steps and a ramp over a single step. Nothing on it carries you up a flight of stairs, so the vouchers can't go towards a stairlift or home lift.
Every fitting comes with a one-year warranty and goes in only where it's technically feasible.
Your household qualifies if at least one member is a Singapore Citizen aged 65 or over, or 60 to 64 and needing help with at least one daily activity.
Why an Entrance Lifter Is Different From an Internal Lift
HDB's wheelchair lifter does one job. It gets a wheelchair user over the steps at a flat's main entrance. A stairlift is a seat on a rail that follows the staircase inside your home, and a home lift travels between your floors.
So start with where the difficulty is. Steps at the front door, a slippery bathroom and the stairs up to a bedroom are different problems, and EASE only reaches the first two.
If the person uses a wheelchair, a stairlift means moving from the wheelchair onto its seat at the bottom, then into a wheelchair waiting at the top, every trip. Our comparison of wheelchair platform lifts and stairlifts helps you work out which one suits them.
Use the Grant for What It Covers, Then Plan the Lift Separately
EASE and a stairlift can help the same person in different parts of the home. Grab bars and a non-slip floor help prevent falls in the bathroom while the stairlift handles the climb, so it's worth applying for EASE even when a stairlift is the bigger job.
Don't pay for a stairlift expecting a grant to refund it later. HDB doesn't reimburse work you've already had done on your own, and EASE (Private) vouchers only pay for catalogue fittings from its appointed contractors.
Price the stairlift or home lift as its own project
Our guide to what goes into the price of a stairlift walks you through each part of a quote, so you can compare offers line by line. The stairlift buying guide covers choosing the chair and rail around the person who'll use it.
Planning a home lift instead? What decides the price of a home lift covers the lift and the building work around it. If you live in an HDB maisonette, read up on the approvals a maisonette stairlift needs before you order one.
Where to Confirm the Details
For the current item lists, prices and forms, go to HDB's EASE page for a flat or the EASE (Private) website for a private home. You deal with each scheme directly, and each one sends its own contractor to do the work.
Apply for EASE (Direct Application) online
- Apply online through the EASE e-Service, which comes in four languages, or through the MyHDB app.
- If the family member is 60 to 64, send a Functional Assessment Report endorsed by a qualified assessor, such as a registered doctor, with your application.
- HDB replies within 14 working days of receiving your application and documents.
- HDB staff or its appointed contractor then contacts you to arrange a site survey and an installation date.
For a wheelchair lifter, HDB says it can take about 8 to 12 weeks to be made and installed once you confirm it after the site survey.
Apply for EASE (Private) on its website
EASE (Private) began rolling out in phases on 1 April 2026, and invitations go out by letter and SMS.
- Apply on the EASE (Private) website.
- If the senior is 60 to 64, include a Functional Assessment Report endorsed by a registered doctor, nurse, physiotherapist or occupational therapist.
- If you'd like help with the application, any Community Centre or ServiceSG Centre can assist.
- If you're approved, the programme assigns a qualified contractor to install your fittings.
Questions about EASE (Private) go to the Building and Construction Authority (BCA), not HDB.
Start the stairlift with a site assessment
For the stairlift itself, your first step is a site assessment rather than an EASE application. The rail, the seat and the space at the top and bottom of your stairs all have to suit the person who'll ride it.
If you're planning a stairlift alongside your EASE fittings, we'll do that site assessment for free and give you a fixed-price quote within 3 to 5 working days of it. We don't quote from photos, and we arrange our specialist installer and the BCA paperwork, then supervise the work through to handover.
Common questions
Can I get a stairlift for free?
Not through EASE, because neither HDB's EASE nor EASE (Private) includes a stairlift between floors. The closest thing to free is for seniors in HDB rental flats, whose EASE items are fully funded by the government, and that can include a wheelchair lifter at a main entrance with two or more steps when no ramp will work.
Will EASE pay for a home lift?
No. Neither scheme lists a home lift, so plan and budget for it as your own building project. Our guide to what decides the price of a home lift breaks that budget down.
Can I get help paying for a stairlift?
Not from EASE, which doesn't cover one. If cost is the worry, compare renting a stairlift with buying one over the time you'll need it, and see what to check before buying a second-hand stairlift.
Do I need to qualify to get a stairlift?
Not to buy one. Age and daily-help rules apply to EASE, which doesn't cover a stairlift. For the stairlift itself, what matters is whether the rider can sit, get on and get off safely at both landings, and whether your staircase can take the rail.
Does DirectHome apply for EASE for me?
No. You deal with HDB, or apply on the EASE (Private) website, and the scheme assigns its own contractor to fit its items. We help with the stairlift or home lift itself, starting with a free site assessment.
Stairlifts across Singapore
Need help with your project?
Tell us what you need on WhatsApp and send a few photos. We'll arrange a free site assessment, then give you a fixed-price quote within 3 to 5 working days.