More accessible and affordable housing starts with elevator reform
Residential Elevators are critical to expand housing access and improve livability . They support older adults, people with disabilities, parents with strollers, and anyone who has difficulty using stairs. Yet the cost of installing an elevator can put it out of reach, particularly for smaller housing developments.
North American elevator requirements, including large minimum dimensions and a fragmented regulatory system, can make elevators needlessly expensive particularly when compared to cities outside of North America. Modernizing these rules will help Texas to deliver more housing options that match the changing needs of our residents.
Why elevator rules affect housing choices
Elevators require money and space. In a smaller apartment building, those costs are spread across fewer homes, making them harder to absorb.
When an elevator is too expensive to include, a project may become harder to build, or residents may have fewer options for homes they can reach comfortably. Rules that limit affordable elevator designs can therefore limit both housing production and access.
Other countries commonly use smaller elevators in residential buildings. Texas should examine how safe, appropriately sized designs could make elevator access feasible in more housing developments.
Elevator reform can:
- Make elevator access feasible in more buildings. Lower installation costs can help smaller developments include elevators.
- Expand housing choices. More homes can accommodate residents who have difficulty using stairs.
- Support aging in place. Elevator access can help residents remain in their homes as their mobility needs change.
- Reduce construction barriers. Clearer requirements and more design options can make projects easier to deliver.
Modernizing standards for housing in Texas
Elevator reform starts with examining which requirements protect people and which unnecessarily restrict safe, lower-cost options.
Texas can learn from smaller elevator designs used internationally and from reform efforts in other North American jurisdictions. The goal is to make safe elevator access easier to provide across a wider range of residential buildings.
What Texans for Housing supports
Texans for Housing supports allowing safe, lower-cost elevator designs that expand housing options and access.
Practical reforms include:
- Reviewing elevator size requirements and allowing smaller designs where appropriate.
- Evaluating established international designs and standards for use in Texas.
- Simplifying overlapping regulatory requirements and approval processes.
- Preserving safety, accessibility, emergency-response, and maintenance protections as standards are updated.
Does a smaller elevator mean less accessibility?
Size alone does not determine accessibility. An elevator must meet the needs of the people who use it, including wheelchair users.
Reform must evaluate those needs directly. Appropriately sized elevators can make access possible in buildings where a larger, more expensive installation would be difficult to provide.
Texas needs more homes and more homes that people can reach and use throughout their lives. Modernizing elevator rules is a practical opportunity to reduce costs and expand access.