Broward County’s New Elevator Outage Ordinance: What Condominium Associations Need to Know

The Broward County Commission recently adopted Ordinance No. 2026-22, establishing new requirements for residential buildings and condominium associations with elevators. The ordinance, adopted in June 2026, requires associations to post and maintain formal emergency elevator outage plans, seek alternative repair providers in certain circumstances, and implement procedures to assist residents with mobility limitations. The measure was prompted by concerns regarding prolonged elevator outages that have negatively impacted residents, particularly seniors and individuals with mobility limitations.

Under the ordinance, residential condominium associations must post and maintain an emergency elevator outage plan in a conspicuous location within the building. The plan is intended to provide residents with clear information regarding contractor contacts, outage-reporting procedures, expected response steps, communication protocols, and accommodations for residents with mobility limitations.

In addition, if a residential building, including a condominium building, has no functioning elevator for more than 24 hours and the association’s contracted elevator company cannot restore service within that timeframe, the association must seek an alternate registered elevator company to perform the required repairs as expeditiously as possible, unless prohibited by an existing service maintenance contract.

The emergency elevator outage plan should include:

• Contact information for the association’s primary elevator maintenance company that has a service maintenance contract for the elevator(s), including after-hours emergency telephone numbers;
• Contact information for any backup or alternate elevator company(ies), where permitted;
• Procedures for reporting outages and requesting repairs;
• Expected response steps following an outage;
• Communication procedures for notifying residents about outage status and repair updates; and
• Accessibility accommodations and assistance protocols for residents with mobility limitations.

Importantly, the ordinance contains immediate enforcement provisions. Code inspectors are not required to provide an opportunity to cure a violation before issuing a citation, and each day a violation continues constitutes a separate violation. Failure to post or maintain the required emergency outage plan may result in a civil penalty of $250 for a first violation and $500 for repeat violations.

Associations should review their existing elevator maintenance agreements, service contracts, and warranties to determine whether any provisions could affect the use of alternative contractors during an extended outage. Boards should also work with management and legal counsel when developing outage-response and accommodation procedures to ensure compliance while minimizing potential liability exposure.

Given the ordinance’s compliance requirements and potential penalties for noncompliance, Broward County associations should take steps now to prepare and implement a compliant elevator emergency outage plan. Even associations outside Broward County may wish to consider adopting similar procedures as a practical risk-management measure for addressing extended elevator outages and resident safety concerns.