Several million French people will not be able to escape it.
This is news that millions of homeowners didn’t see coming. It must be said that at first glance, it did not concern them that much. Or even not at all. And yet. Looking more closely, it will result in new costs for some property owners. An additional bill that will necessarily have to be paid in order to comply, as a matter of security. Enough to further increase the financial burden that weighs on many owners.
This unexpected deadline concerns buildings. Every quarter, the co-owners pay charges to pay for cleaning costs, corridor electricity, security equipment but also, for some of them, maintenance of the elevator(s). From around ten to 50 euros, approximately, depending on the size of the condominium and the number of elevators installed.
During the next cost calls, a new line will appear: that of the cost of updating the alert systems present in elevators. You know, that little yellow button with a bell on it and which allows you to call for help in the event of a breakdown. In thousands of elevators it will soon be unusable. At issue: the end of the wired telephone network, 2G and 3, planned by the various operators. It is through these systems that the alarm is connected to the intervention teams.
“It is therefore necessary to modify the installation of the remote alarm communication in the elevator. This is important for the safety of users. If it does not work, I cannot call,” explains Jérôme Féré, director of repair in France, Belgium, and Luxembourg for Kone, one of the leaders in the elevator market.
If the end of the networks will be staggered from 2025 to 2029, this sector professional advises not to delay making the necessary changes. Already, when the company works on a model that is not equipped with 4G, it is installed de facto in place of the old system.
For the co-ownership, this is not painless: the intervention, which lasts 2 to 4 hours depending on the nature of the alarm in place, costs between 800 and 1500 euros. A bill that the owners will therefore have to share. For some, switching from wired to 4G will even allow savings on the subscription paid to the operator.
Owners do not have to urgently contact the company which maintains their elevator(s): this intervenes regularly during the year, the proposal to carry out the update will come from the professional. “All our elevators are referenced: we have the age of each remote alarm and each elevator,” reassures Jérôme Féré.