Stairlift Statistics UK: Deaths, Prices and Company Failures (2026)

Published 2 September 2026 · Last updated 7 September 2026

Last checked: 2 September 2026. Every figure on this page links to the dataset it came from. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 with attribution and a link.

There is no official UK statistic that counts stairlift users or installations. No government body registers a stairlift the way the DVLA registers a class 3 mobility scooter, so the numbers that exist come from datasets that have to be built by hand. This page collects every stairlift figure we have published, plus the safety and funding statistics from official sources that sit around them.

Stairlift company survival: almost half no longer exist

Half of Britain’s stairlift companies no longer exist. Our stairlift company survival study traced 323 companies incorporated since 1991 through the Companies House register: 148 dissolved, a failure rate of 45.8%. The median lifespan of a dissolved stairlift company was just 2.6 years.

That matters to buyers because a stairlift warranty is only as durable as the company behind it. The BHTA Sept 2024 code contains no insolvency or warranty-continuity provision, so if your installer dissolves, your warranty usually dissolves with it. Our guide to warning signs when choosing a stairlift company covers how to check a firm before you pay a deposit.

Stair falls: 934 deaths a year in England

Stair falls now kill 934 people a year in England. Our analysis of ONS death registrations in stair fall deaths in England, 2013 to 2024 found deaths up 45% from 642 in 2013, with the sharpest rise in the 75 to 79 age band: up 109%, from 74 deaths to 155.

These are the deaths a stairlift exists to prevent, and the trend is moving the wrong way as the population ages. The next ONS release of registered deaths (2025 data) is due in October 2026 and this series will be updated when it lands.

The wider falls picture, and two figures almost everyone misattributes

Stair falls sit inside a bigger set of numbers, and those numbers are quoted so often that their origins have drifted. Here is what the primary sources actually say, each checked on 7 September 2026.

• Falls caused 48% of accidental deaths in the UK in 2023, 11,110 deaths out of 23,270, and stairs and steps were the single most commonly identified mechanism, at 10% of all fall deaths. Source: RoSPA, Annual Review of Accidents, published April 2026. The figure is usually credited online to the Centre for Ageing Better, which quotes it and credits RoSPA.
• Around a third of people aged 65 and over fall at least once a year, and around half of those aged 80 and over. Source: the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, Falls: applying All Our Health, updated 25 February 2022. This one is usually credited to the NHS. It is not on nhs.uk: the NHS falls pages, last reviewed 6 March 2025, carry no such figure.
• 11.1 million people aged 65 and over in England and Wales, 18.6% of the population. Source: ONS, Census 2021, released 28 June 2022. Later ONS releases report the change as a percentage and not as an absolute count, so this is still the last hard number, and it belongs labelled as Census 2021 and not as today’s population.
• RoSPA also states that falls on stairs and steps kill over 1,000 people a year in England and Wales, and hospitalise 43,000 more. RoSPA attaches no year and no derivation to either number. Our own England figure of 934 deaths does not contradict it: England is a subset of England and Wales, and the two sit in roughly the right proportion.

One figure has been dropped rather than carried over. An earlier statistics page on this site gave a UK stair lift market size of USD 206.5 million for 2023, credited to Grand View Research. Grand View’s own published report page gives a global figure and no UK figure, and its UK page cannot be read to check. The number stays off this page until it can be sourced.

Stairlift prices in 2026

From our 2026 UK stairlift price research:

• A new straight stairlift typically costs £2,000 to £4,000 installed (average around £2,300).
• A new curved stairlift typically costs £4,000 to £10,000 (average around £5,500).
• A reconditioned straight stairlift typically costs £900 to £1,900 (average around £1,300).

Fuller breakdowns by staircase type are in our stairlift price guide and the UK mobility equipment price index.

Funding: the Disabled Facilities Grant postcode lottery

Stairlifts are one of the most common home adaptations funded by the Disabled Facilities Grant. Our analysis of DFG allocations by council for 2026/27 found funding ranges from £30.63 to £191.05 per person aged 65+ depending on the council, against an England average of £65.83 per person aged 65+. Allocation correlates only weakly with local falls admissions (Pearson r = 0.231), which is why we describe it as a postcode lottery.

What nobody counts

Three gaps in the official record, for any journalist or researcher looking for them:

• No official count of UK stairlift installations or users exists. Stairlifts are not registered with any government body.
• No public UK register tracks stairlift company failures. Our survival study had to be assembled record by record from Companies House filings.
• Industry codes do not protect warranties through insolvency. The BHTA Sept 2024 code contains no insolvency or warranty-continuity provision.

Frequently asked questions

How many stairlift companies are there in the UK?

Our Companies House research traced 323 stairlift companies incorporated since 1991, of which 148 (45.8%) have dissolved. The number actively trading changes constantly, which is one reason we publish warning signs rather than a fixed list of companies.

How many people die falling down stairs in the UK?

In England alone, 934 people died from stair falls in 2024, up 45% from 642 in 2013, based on our analysis of ONS death registrations. The steepest rise was among people aged 75 to 79.

How much does a stairlift cost in 2026?

A new straight stairlift typically costs £2,000 to £4,000 installed, a curved stairlift £4,000 to £10,000, and a reconditioned straight stairlift £900 to £1,900, based on our 2026 price research across UK suppliers.

Can I get a grant for a stairlift?

The Disabled Facilities Grant can fund stairlifts, but allocations vary from £30.63 to £191.05 per person aged 65+ depending on your council. Attendance Allowance and PIP can also help with ongoing costs — see our Attendance Allowance league table.

How long do stairlift companies last?

Among the 148 dissolved companies in our survival study, the median lifespan was 2.6 years. Long-established firms exist, but longevity is worth checking on the Companies House register before you buy, because warranties rarely survive an insolvency.

Sources

All Review Mobility datasets above are built from public records — Companies House filings, ONS death registrations and government grant allocations — with full methodology and primary-source links on each linked page. See also our Data & Research hub and editorial team and methods. Statistics for wheelchairs and mobility scooters are on their own pages.

Change log

2 September 2026 — page first published. 7 September 2026 — added the wider falls context from RoSPA, OHID and ONS Census 2021 while consolidating the older stairlift statistics page into this one, and dropped an unsourceable market-size figure. Next scheduled updates: ONS 2025 death registrations (October 2026), Companies House incorporated companies Jul–Sep 2026 (29 October 2026).

Published 2 September 2026 · Last updated 7 September 2026