Stair Lift Rental

When budget is a primary concern during your quest for a stairlift, you may want to consider a more cost effective stair lift rental service. The initial outlay of money is much lower, and certain users may only need a stairlift for a shorter amount of time (eg. Your child suffers a sports injury and can't walk properly for a few months while it heals) - this makes stair lift rental of used stairlifts a sensible option.

What Are The Benefits of Stairlift Rental?

Stairlift rental agreements often involve no minimum contract period. This flexibility is perfect, and allows the user to essentially only pay for what they use when renting a recycled stairlift. For many people, paying in monthly installments is often much more affordable, and quite often you will be given an additional option to purchase the stairlift at any time. Check your agreement for details.

A 24 hour support service is often included in the agreement too, meaning that if anything goes wrong with your rental stairlift, a maintenance technician will be on-call to help you out.

Stairlift rental also encourages peace of mind, as the user need not worry about servicing or maintenance costs - these are included in your monthly premium.

However, as you are renting a used stairlift, you will need to accept that it may not closely match the decor of your house. While this may not be a problem for those looking purely for a practical solution, it could be enough to convince some people to purchase a custom stairlift that matches their home.

Stairlift Rentals

Stairlift Rental Costs

Standard installations of Straight Stairlift units start at around $600. This covers fitting and removal at the end of the rental term. The monthly charge usually hovers around the $75 mark (approximately $19 per week), but you can probably find a better price if you search hard enough online. This initial cost is far less than the potential thousands you would have to fork out in a lump sum to purchase a stairlift outright. Keep in mind that it only makes financial sense to rent a stairlift if you anticipate short to medium term usage. Any prolonged rental for a number of years could end up costing you more than the full purchase price of a new model!

Read The Small Print

It is worth carefully reading every detail in the contract before signing up for a stairlift rental agreement. You must be very clear about all the associated costs and the exact terms of your support policy. Ensure that the agreement covers in detail the maintenance and service level costs and expectations. You don't want to have your used stairlift break down in the middle of the night and be left high and dry because your agreement doesn't actually include 24 hour support!

Hidden Costs

Sometimes stairlift companies may try and charge you with hidden costs once your contract has started (eg. folding rail installation, power point too far away), so it is always advisable to have everything in writing - don't ever rely on a verbal promise.

Rental Exceptions

It is important to note that only straight stairlifts are rented out. Due to the complexity and cost of installing a curved stairlift, they are generally not rented out to consumers. Similarly, only indoor stairlifts are available as rentals. If you require an outdoor stairlift, you will find it almost impossible to rent one - purchasing is typically the only option in this case.

Should I Rent a Stairlift?

As we mentioned earlier, stairlift rental is only cost effective for short periods of time. If you plan to rent for three months or less, then this is probably a viable option. For rental periods in excess of three months, it typically becomes cheaper to buy a secondhand stairlift with a view to selling it back after you are done with it. This allows you to recoup some of the original costs.

Let's take a look at a summary of costs in a typical stairlift rental scenario:

  • Cost to prepare the stairlift and rail to fit the stairway at your house: $100 to $250
  • Cost to install the stairlift: $400 to $700
  • Cost to remove the stairlift at the end of the rental period: $100 to $350
  • Three months stairlift rental cost: $200 to $600

The total cost for a three month rental could be anywhere between $800 and $1900.

Given that you could pick up a used stairlift for around $1500 and then sell it back for anywhere between $500 and $750, let's say your out of pocket expenses (for the sake of argument) arrived at $1000. As we've seen above, renting for three months alone could cost a minimum of $800. Once you go over this threshold, stairlift rental does not make financial sense, and you would be advised to investigate purchasing and then later selling a secondhand stairlift.

In Summary...

Stairlift rental can be very worthwhile for a number of reasons - just be smart about the questions you ask and the vendor you choose. Unlike some second hand cars, used stairlifts are generally fully refurbished and in excellent condition, meaning that you could save some serious cash and yet still enjoy all the benefits of a standard stairlift if renting a stairlift is your choice.