How elevator and lift companies use PermitRadius to be on the drawings
For BC elevator installers and service contractors: how building-permit data shows you every apartment, multiplex and custom home that will need an elevator — and a maintenance contract — from the day the permit is issued.
PermitRadius Research · Published Sep 28, 2026 · Updated Sep 28, 2026
In short
Every building over four storeys needs an elevator and a maintenance contract for the life of the building; a growing share of custom homes spec a residential lift. PermitRadius pulls apartment, multiplex and mixed-use permits, tagged home-elevator permits and $2.5M+ houses out of the feeds the week they land, with the developer or builder behind each one, and keeps a library of every elevator permit on file.
01 · The earliest signal that a building is real
Rezonings get cancelled; renderings get shelved. A building permit means financing is in place and the mechanical package is about to be tendered. PermitRadius reads every apartment, multiplex and mixed-use permit inside your radius the day the city publishes it and shows you the developer or builder — weeks before the tender, months before the hoistway exists.
02 · Home elevators, tagged
When a new-house permit's description mentions an elevator, the app tags it. Vancouver alone has published hundreds of residential elevator permits since 2017; the Library keeps every one, grouped by neighbourhood, so a service contractor can see where the residential lifts are and which ones it doesn't yet maintain.
03 · Custom homes over $2.5 million
Three-storey view lots, ageing-in-place builds and laneway-plus-main-house projects spec lifts constantly. The elevator filter keeps every new house over $2.5 million so you can be the name the builder gives when the client asks.
7000 blk 135 Pl
Killarney · Vancouver
$4.1M
Townhouse
Brightwater Builders Ltd.
17 permits this year · repeat builder
04 · Installation now, maintenance forever
Every new building becomes a service contract at occupancy. Mark the permit contacted the week it lands, set a follow-up for the tender window, and again for occupancy; the app keeps the dates and pins them to the top of your list when they're due.
05 · Commercial too
Office, hotel and institutional permits over $2 million are included in the elevator filter; you can switch commercial off in Settings if you only do residential. Export any list to CSV; builder and developer contact details on the Crew plan come from public business listings.
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