Stairlift purchase: funding, advice, payment - what Stiftung Warentest recommends
Created: 05/12/2022, 13:43
There are a few things to consider when purchasing a stairlift.
© Daniel Naupold/dpa
When walking becomes a pain, stairlifts can help.
What retirees should pay attention to when buying and what financial aid they can apply for.
Munich – In old age, the body often no longer plays along as it should.
Walking becomes difficult.
Stairlifts can help pensioners stay in their own four walls for as long as possible.
Most of the lifts are also subsidized by nursing care funds or the Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW), writes
Stiftung Warentest
in the June issue of “Finanztest”.
Tenants who can no longer reach their apartment without a stair lift have the right to have such a lift installed.
Landlords must allow installation.
There are different types of stair lifts.
They can be installed in single-family houses as well as in apartment buildings.
Elevators can run over six or more floors.
They are available in seat and platform versions.
Stair lifts: be careful with offers on the internet
There are a number of providers on the internet.
Caution is advised here.
Disguised as advice pages at first glance, these often turn out to be pure sales portals without serious sales advice.
These sites are mostly designed to attract customers.
The providers often refer to exclusively positive reviews from satisfied customers.
The authenticity of customer feedback is difficult to verify.
Stairlift funding: This is important to note
Stairlifts can get very expensive.
However, many sufferers can apply for grants.
The following applies to all subsidies: inquire and apply before installation.
Statutory health insurance companies generally do not consider stair lifts to be aids and therefore do not pay for them.
However, people with care grades one to five can apply for a subsidy of up to 4,000 euros from the care insurance fund.
The amount is a one-time payment.
However, if several people use the lift, each can apply for up to 4000 euros.
For a married couple, that would be around 8,000 euros.
Shared apartments can be subsidized with up to 16,000 euros.
The KfW also provides funding.
These must be requested individually.
However, they may not be combined with other grants from the long-term care insurance fund.
Stairlifts are considered an extraordinary tax burden and can be deducted.
Tax offices often require a medical certificate for this.
You can get advice here
Points of contact for serious advice are, for example, the Bavarian consumer advice center or the housing advice centers (Internet: wohnungsAdaptation-bag.de).
These official advice centers provide interested parties with neutral information, help with legal issues and clarify possible financial aid.
Reputable providers also make sure that important formalities are clarified in the preliminary discussion.
This includes, among other things, the landlord's consent to the installation of the lift.
In some cases, a surveyor will need to assess the load-bearing capacity of the railing to which the lift is to be attached.
Any consequential and waiting costs should also be addressed during the consultation.
These can quickly add up to 200 to 300 euros a year.
In principle, it is advisable to obtain and compare several offers from different providers.
Important before buying
If you opt for a stair lift, you should definitely have the corresponding staircase inspected before installing the lift.
If the provider provides experts for this, these, the advice in advance and the cost estimate for interested parties should be free of charge.
Conclusion of the contract: You should pay attention to this
If a contract for the purchase of a stair lift is concluded, including at home, a 14-day right of withdrawal applies.
This should be explicitly mentioned in the contract.
The buyer is entitled to the right of withdrawal even if there is no mention of this in the purchase contract.
If there is no reference to this, you are even entitled to twelve months and 14 days - from the date of signature.
Particular caution is required when the buyer is given documents to sign that are clearly not a contract of sale.
In this case, it is often argued that the purchase would be faster that way.
With a signature, however, the buyer often assigns his right to cancellation.
Contracts should be read carefully before signing.
Some companies include inadmissible clauses in their documents.
For example, that defects must be reported in writing within two weeks of installation, i.e. by post, with your own signature and as a letter.
By law, however, it is sufficient if an email or a simple text message is sent via SMS or WhatsApp.
Stairlift: This is how payment works
Before the lift is installed, all contract documents should be available, including any building permit that may be required.
If possible, the invoice should not be paid until 14 days after the installation has been completed.
In the first two weeks you can check whether the lift is working properly or whether there are any defects.
If this is not possible, it is advisable to agree on splitting the bill.
90 to 95 percent are paid before installation and the remaining five to ten percent 14 days later.
In the event of possible defects or complaints, you also have a means of pressure at hand.
Under no circumstances should one be put under time pressure by providers, for example with alleged special offers.
Text: Caroline Midderhoff