What are residents right when lift is out of service?

tloz123

Hi there. My family lives in a a housing association flat (L&Q). It has 6 floors.

For the past 3 months, the lift has not been in service and it’s actually just getting ridiculous. The residents in the building have gone to the local L&Q office and they’ve stated that they’re handling it and will update when they receive any news.

From an admin POV, I get it. L&Q have contacted the repairers and the ball is in the repairers court now as to how quickly they can fix the lift… BUT from the level of communication from L&Q, their attitude to the situation, it seems like they’re not really chasing it up (what I’ve heard). And to be paying service charge every month and to not receive 100% of the service doesn’t sit right. 3 months, soon to be 4, is wayyy too long too not get a lift repaired imo. And also, adding to the list of things that are not being delivered as part of the “service” residents should receive, the car park gates have been out of action for over 2 months too. Meaning anyone can access the car park without a fob.

There are a handful of old people (including my parents) that live in 4th floor and above and it does take a toll climbing those flights of stairs.

What are the residents right in this matter? Will writing to the local MP or a journalist accelerate things?

lincroft1710

tloz123 said:

 Will writing to the local MP or a journalist accelerate things?

Not necessarily. For example if hard to obtain parts are needed to repair the lift, then I can't see an MP or journo being able to help. 

Tabieth

I’d absolutely be contacting my MP / Councillor about this. It may make no difference but it can’t hurt and so can only help. 

DullGreyGuy

tloz123 said:

Hi there. My family lives in a a housing association flat (L&Q). It has 6 floors.

For the past 3 months, the lift has not been in service and it’s actually just getting ridiculous. The residents in the building have gone to the local L&Q office and they’ve stated that they’re handling it and will update when they receive any news.

From an admin POV, I get it. L&Q have contacted the repairers and the ball is in the repairers court now as to how quickly they can fix the lift… BUT from the level of communication from L&Q, their attitude to the situation, it seems like they’re not really chasing it up (what I’ve heard). And to be paying service charge every month and to not receive 100% of the service doesn’t sit right. 3 months, soon to be 4, is wayyy too long too not get a lift repaired imo. And also, adding to the list of things that are not being delivered as part of the “service” residents should receive, the car park gates have been out of action for over 2 months too. Meaning anyone can access the car park without a fob.

There are a handful of old people (including my parents) that live in 4th floor and above and it does take a toll climbing those flights of stairs.

What are the residents right in this matter? Will writing to the local MP or a journalist accelerate things?

In our new offices there are 8 lifts, a safety inspection after 6 months found that 4 of them had a defective part. We were told the part for one of them would be available within 4 months and it would be over 12 months for the other three. We were on floor 16 and so walking not much of an option.

Service charge covers the cost of the building, it's not like the electricity becomes free because the lift isnt working or that the cleaner works pro-bono. 

Really you need to find out the cause of the delay, if its parts on back order as per ours there is little they can do about it but the communal electric bill will go down with the lift not operating, though may be more than offset by the cost of the repair of the lift. 

Mark_d

I don't think there's a lot you can do.  Our lift was out of order for a few months earlier this year.  Getting a heavy suitcase up and down two flights of stairs has been tough.  I understand it took so long to get the lift fixed because the repair people were having difficulty getting hold of the required parts.  Not a lot can be done about that.

If you and the other leaseholders are prepared to pay for the whole lift being replaced then I'm sure L&Q could arrange that for you.