Overview
- Reporting in October 2026 shows average waits measured in months — about six months in Madrid — and individual cases lasting up to a year or longer for repairs, modernizations or new installations.
- The backlog started after Real Decreto 355/2024 imposed mandatory safety and accessibility upgrades such as photoelectric door curtains, improved floor levelization and variable‑frequency drives and gave a one‑year deadline after inspections to fix deficiencies.
- Industry groups estimate 300,000–350,000 elevators need work to comply, creating a sudden volume of jobs that companies cannot schedule through current staff and subcontractor networks.
- The sector says it needs about 1,300 new technicians a year but is filling only 300–350 posts, and heavy reliance on low‑paid subcontractors plus delays in parts delivery are lengthening project timelines.
- Residents are paying maintenance fees while lifts remain out of service, losing grant windows for upgrades and facing large special assessments, and the industry is urging more vocational training places, higher pay and regulatory pragmatism to clear the backlog.