Part of our complete guide
Home Lifts in Singapore: A Landed Home Buying Guide →Key takeaways
- Give every bidder the same drawing revision, stops and access requirements.
- Mark each installation item included, excluded, provisional or not applicable, with a named responsible party.
- Compare manufacturer warranty terms separately from servicing, callouts and parts support.
- Agree the operating evidence and handover pack before signing.
What should two home-lift quotations actually have in common?
Compare two proposals against the same drawing, user needs and finished condition of the house. A price for lift equipment and assembly cannot be ranked fairly against a price that also covers floor openings, electrical preparation and making good around each landing. First resolve the differences; then compare the totals.
This worksheet is for the stage after you have shortlisted a lift arrangement and received proposals. It does not set a market price or choose a drive system. Its purpose is to expose who must do each part of the job, which assumptions remain unpriced, and what support you will have after handover.
BCA’s procurement guidance recommends looking beyond cost to technical capability, reliability and access to manufacturer support. For a household, that means asking for evidence of how the proposed equipment will be installed and supported, rather than treating a familiar badge or a long warranty headline as the whole assessment.
Sources: Building and Construction Authority: Good Practices Guide for Lift Owners — procurement chapter
- Home lift types compared
Resolve the drive-system choice before comparing installation scope.
Start with one drawing revision and a landing-by-landing schedule
Send each bidder the same floor plans, proposed stops and description of the people who will use the lift. Give the agreed drawing a date or revision number and ask the quotation to identify it. If one bidder proposes an alternative position or doorway, record it as a separate option; do not let the baseline silently change.
For each landing, record the proposed door position, approach space, threshold treatment and finish around the opening. Where wheelchair access is part of the brief, record the actual chair and accompanying-person needs rather than accepting an accessibility label alone. A plan that shows the lift fitting between walls can still leave the household with an awkward route into it.
Ask the bidder to identify which dimensions have been measured on site and which remain assumptions. If an opening or structural detail needs a professional assessment, record who commissions it and when the finding becomes part of the fixed scope. Do not instruct a builder to cut from a brochure drawing.
| Record for each stop | What the bidder must return |
|---|---|
| Floor and door arrangement | A marked plan identifying entry direction and the agreed drawing revision. |
| Route to the lift | A plan that accounts for doors, furniture or mobility equipment that affect access. |
| Opening and surrounding structure | Site assumptions, required professional checks and who owns the preparation. |
| Finished landing | Threshold, surrounding wall/floor finish and any making-good exclusions. |
Editorial worksheet: repeat these rows for every proposed stop.
- Wheelchair access considerations
Use a more detailed access brief where a wheelchair or carer will travel.
Use this scope matrix to uncover work between the lift and the house
For every row below, have each bidder mark included, excluded, provisional or not applicable. Add the named party responsible and the document that describes the work. “By others” is an allocation still to be resolved; it is not a completed scope item.
Cibes provides a useful manufacturer example: its quotation stage includes drawings and site-preparation advice, while the building work varies with the lift position. Passing through a floor can require an opening even where the lift arrives with its own shaft. This illustrates why a supplied shaft and a prepared house are separate questions. Its global installation page does not determine the approvals needed for a particular Singapore property.
Scroll across to compare all columns →
| Scope boundary | Evidence to request | Question that resolves an omission |
|---|---|---|
| Equipment and configuration | Model, stops, door arrangement, finishes and itemized options linked to the agreed drawing. | Does the quoted model include every landing and option shown? |
| Structure and openings | Professional design/checking scope and a builder’s description of the openings and supporting work. | Who takes responsibility if the site cannot accept the assumed opening? |
| Power and communications | Installer’s requirements and the electrical contractor’s matching scope; connection or subscription arrangements where applicable. | Who brings the required services to the specified handover points? |
| Access, delivery and protection | Delivery route, unloading arrangement, storage assumptions and protection of occupied areas. | What happens if the equipment cannot follow the assumed route? |
| Water and weather exposure | Design responsibility for enclosure and water protection where the location needs it. | Which party resolves the joint between the lift enclosure and the building? |
| Finishing and reinstatement | Defined floor, wall, ceiling and external finishes around affected areas. | Does making good restore the agreed finish or only close the opening? |
| Testing, applications and handover | List of included professional services, application tasks, fees and handover documents. | Who coordinates each task, and which charges remain outside this price? |
Fill this matrix separately for Quote A and Quote B. It is an editorial comparison aid, not a statutory form.
Sources: Cibes Lift: Advice and installation
How do you compare an all-in quote with separate lift and builder contracts?
Both arrangements can be workable. One coordinating contractor can give you a single point for changes and sequencing, provided its written scope actually includes the interfaces. Separate contracts can give clearer visibility into the lift and building costs, provided someone is explicitly responsible for matching the two specifications.
Consider an illustrative difference: Quote A includes equipment and installation with power supplied by others. Quote B also includes electrical preparation. Before deciding A is cheaper, obtain the matching electrical scope for A. Repeat the exercise for every exclusion; leave unresolved items visibly unresolved instead of assigning an invented allowance.
Keep fixed amounts, provisional allowances, optional upgrades and ongoing charges in separate columns. Ask when a provisional item becomes fixed and what evidence is needed to change it. If a bidder cannot yet price a structural uncertainty, the next step is to resolve that uncertainty, not to assume the lowest quoted total is the completed-project price.
For either contract arrangement, identify who checks that the site is ready before lift delivery. Record the required condition, the person accepting it and the process if it is not ready. This prevents the installation programme from depending on an unstated handoff.
Which promises belong in the warranty, and which need a service agreement?
Ask for the actual manufacturer warranty and the local seller’s service terms before signing. They answer different questions. Aritco’s currently linked product-warranty document, for example, excludes routine maintenance, normal wear and batteries; it also requires servicing through an Aritco Partner and records of proper maintenance. Those are manufacturer-specific terms, not a rule for every brand or a guarantee of the terms in a Singapore quote.
Turn the paperwork into a household decision: who receives a breakdown call, what attendance commitment is written, and which labour, callout or replacement charges remain payable? Ask separately about parts availability and the process for an unavailable part. A promised response is not the same as a promised return to service.
Record the warranty start event and what happens if building work delays handover. In the cited Aritco document, the start is the date on the Installation Checklist; confirm the applicable version and local agreement for the equipment offered to you. Do not replace the actual start event with an assumed date of first family use.
- Warranty: issuer, covered components, exclusions, start event and how a claim is made.
- Service: included visits, billable consumables or parts, callout terms and attendance commitment.
- Continuity: local support contact, required records, access to model-specific expertise and any conditions on changing the service provider.
Sources: Aritco Lift AB: Aritco Product Warranty — Terms and Conditions, version 2022-11
What evidence should be ready before the family starts using the lift?
Agree a handover pack while comparing quotes. It should identify the installed model, final drawings, user instructions, service contact, maintenance schedule, warranty documents and the records needed for operation. Ask the installer to demonstrate normal operation and explain the model’s alarm and power-failure arrangements; keep servicing and rescue interventions with trained personnel.
BCA’s current requirements say a valid Permit to Operate is required before operation, with registered FI contractors engaged for the relevant work. As checked on 9 September 2026, a lift serving one residential unit follows the manufacturer’s maintenance recommendation, or three-monthly maintenance where that recommendation is absent. Annual inspection and testing is a separate requirement. Ask the provider to specify how both appear in its proposal.
A manufacturer’s installation check or conformity document does not replace the Singapore operating requirement. Make the responsible party and required evidence explicit, so “installation complete” cannot be mistaken for “ready for the family to use”.
Sources: Building and Construction Authority: Fixed Installations legislation and owner requirements
Send one clarification sheet before choosing a supplier
Return the completed matrix to each shortlisted bidder and ask for one revised proposal tied to the same drawing revision. List every unresolved row, the answer needed and the person who must provide it. Compare the revised scope and ongoing commitments together, then choose based on the risks your household most needs resolved.
For a lift within a larger renovation, bring the builder and lift specialist to the same scope discussion. For a household that depends on the lift for bedroom access, give particular attention to breakdown support and the plan during downtime. These priorities can justify different choices even when the equipment specification is similar.
If you would like DirectHome to coordinate the home-lift scope, send the floor plans, proposed stops and the exclusions from your current quotations. That gives the discussion a concrete starting point: which work is already allocated and which part of the installation still needs an owner.
- Discuss a home lift for your property
Share your layout and the installation scope you need coordinated.
Sources and scope
Our editorial team checked the references below. Manufacturer guidance applies to the products and arrangements it describes; confirm the documents for your proposed installation.
- Fixed Installations legislation and owner requirements
Building and Construction Authority · Checked
Current Singapore owner responsibilities, valid PTO before operation, registered FI contractors, single-residential-unit maintenance rule and annual inspection/testing.
- Advice and installation
Cibes Lift · Checked
Manufacturer example: quotations accompanied by drawings and site-preparation advice; building openings depend on placement; modular shaft supply does not remove all builder preparation.
- Aritco Product Warranty — Terms and Conditions, version 2022-11
Aritco Lift AB · Checked
Manufacturer example: maintenance records and authorized partner requirements; routine maintenance, wear and batteries excluded; warranty starts from Installation Checklist date. This document was still linked by the manufacturer downloads page when checked.
- Good Practices Guide for Lift Owners — procurement chapter
Building and Construction Authority · Checked
Procurement guidance considers technical capability, equipment reliability and OEM support alongside cost. Older regulatory and portal references in this guide are not used.
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About the author
Written by the DirectHome team, Singapore home-upgrade contractors coordinating licensed lift, pool, roofing and gate specialists. We coordinate BCA-permitted works through licensed specialist partners across landed property in Singapore.
