Selling or removing a stairlift
When a stairlift is no longer needed, it can be removed, sold back to a company or passed on. What it is worth depends mainly on the rail and the lift's age.
Updated Oct 21, 2026
Straight or curved?
- Straight stairlifts can be reconditioned and refitted to other stairs, so companies sometimes buy them back.
- Curved stairlifts have a rail shaped for one staircase; the rail rarely has resale value, though the carriage and seat might.
Your options
- Buy-back from the company that fitted it, or from a reconditioning company.
- Removal only: the company removes it, sometimes for a fee.
- Private sale: possible, but the buyer needs a professional to fit and check it.
- Donation: some charities and reconditioning schemes accept straight lifts.
Before you call
- Note the make, model, age and rail length.
- Find the service history.
- Ask whether removal is free when they buy it back.
Looking to buy instead? See reconditioned stairlifts.
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