83% of San Francisco’s Elevators Have Expired Permits

Out of the approximate 10,800 elevators in the city of San Francisco, around 9,000 — or 83% — have expired permits, many of which are multiple years old, SFGATE reports. When an elevator is installed in California, it undergoes an “acceptance” inspection where a series of tests are performed to make sure the elevator is reacting the way it’s designed to react. Once it passes, it’s issued a permit by the California Department of Industrial Relations (DIR). From that point on, elevators are supposed to be inspected once a year by DIR. Some elevators are eligible for every-other-year inspections, if the owner of the elevator applies for a special permit with its own list of requirements. According to the source, DIR’s elevator unit is understaffed and overworked and a DIR spokesperson indicated there are just 13 inspectors in the Bay Area elevator office, which covers both San Francisco and the East Bay. They’re hoping to add “several” more inspectors in the coming months and have 18 vacancies in all. So, it has fallen on private maintenance companies to monitor San Francisco’s elevators. There are reports that “many” privately owned elevators in the city have a maintenance contract and a fair amount of San Francisco elevators are examined by maintenance workers (who are certified by the state) at least quarterly. But property owners aren’t legally required to keep a contract with maintenance companies, and the annual state inspection is still supposed to be required. In the long term, DIR believes that filling all of its vacancies “will allow us to eliminate the backlog,” according to a spokesperson.