Who is the Coalition for Elevator Reform?

The Coalition for Elevator Reform is emerging group of disability, senior, and housing advocates who have signed on to the policy statement below.

We, the undersigned organizations, represent a broad constituency committed to expanding housing access, affordability, and inclusion. We believe that meaningful elevator reform is essential to ensuring that newly built housing meets the needs of people of all ages, abilities, and family types.Across the country, small multifamily buildings are re-emerging as a vital source of new housing. Yet the cost of elevators often makes it impractical to include elevators in these buildings. The result is fewer accessible homes, suboptimal designs, and missed opportunities to create housing that supports aging-in-place, disability access, and family life.We share the following principles:Dense housing must be more affordable to build: It is unacceptable that it costs up to five times more in the United States than in Europe to build and maintain an elevator. Elevators are the safest form of transit and a clear example of the value of universal design. We must be able to cost-effectively build the housing our communities need within existing neighborhoods.Housing supply cannot expand without access: Expanding housing options without adding elevators leaves many people behind. Elevators are not luxury amenities; they are essential infrastructure for equitable housing, enabling access for seniors, people with disabilities, families with children, and others whose mobility needs are not well served by stairs alone.Standard harmonization promotes safety, innovation, and affordability: Elevator safety can be maintained while fostering a more dynamic and competitive elevator market. Aligning state and local regulations with the latest, unmodified ASME safety standards is a step in the right direction. We also support allowing components certified under ISO/EN standards to be sold in the North American market.Regulatory clarity should enable, not prevent, access: Federal accessibility law is intended to expand access, yet misinterpretation and uncertainty around elevator requirements have had the opposite effect; discouraging elevators altogether in smaller multifamily buildings. Clear federal guidance confirming that right-sized, accessible elevators are permissible is critical to unlocking access where none would otherwise exist.For these reasons, we support targeted local, state and federal actions to modernize elevator policy, clarify accessibility requirements, and reduce unnecessary cost. By signing this letter, our organizations affirm that elevator reform is a housing issue, an accessibility issue, and an aging-in-place issue. Progress requires collaboration across housing, disability, aging, and civic communities.