“I don’t need a key safe", yes you do!

Every lift, including those in private homes, requires a dedicated key safe for the exclusive use of the lift maintenance company.

A dedicated key safe is a safety item as it allows for the quickest access to a building if there is a passenger trapped inside a lift in a secured building. As an owner of a lift company for 25 years I have had this discussion with hundreds of lift owners who do not want a dedicated key safe installed as they don’t want strangers to have access to their property. At Melbourne Elevators we vet all our employees carefully, including police background checks. If you can’t trust your lift company then change to one you can trust!

If a passenger is stuck in a lift they want to be released as soon as possible. If a lift company is attending an entrapment they do not want to waste time calling people for keys so they may call the fire brigade who will 100% gain quick access by breaking any door locks that stand in their way. For the lift mechanic to wait for the fire brigade delays the process and causes additional stress to the passengers. The cost of repairing doors can run to thousands of dollars in addition to the fire brigades call out fees! If the passenger calls the fire brigade before the lift company the lift owner may then be up for many thousands of dollars to repair the lift doors as well! I have seen this become a $10,000 problem….

The key safe with the building access keys needs to be dedicated to the lift company only. If there is only one key box on site for all trades to share it is inevitable that a trade will forget to replace the keys. When there is a lift emergency there might be no keys for the lift mechanic so the fire brigade will be called. This scenario has occurred many times, resulting in delayed passenger releases and stressed building owners with big repair bills resulting from the fire brigade forcing entry.

Home lift owners, especially, require a key safe outside the building with lift keys as home lifts are often used when there is only one occupant in the building. If there is no one to grant access to the lift-mechanic they may have to call the fire brigade to access a trapped lift passenger.

For the sake of a few dollars, a key safe can give peace of mind and save a lot of stress.

Andrew Lewis
Director
Melbourne Elevators.

Published: March 12, 2026