Look the reality is there may not be any reason to require an elevator especially in an old building. It’s a nice to have but five floors to many people isn’t a big problem. Sure she signed a lease with the expectation of an elevator, but force Majeure will come into play. At best the landlord will let you out of the lease and tell you to get out. Especially if you go negative with the media and such. What’s the plan if that happens? How long remains on the lease?
Your best bet is communication with the landlord and finding out what the plan is to get it fixed
See how @TranquilMind is showing you how to set up your legal position? As opposed to just asking or complaining. And it’s important this be a letter, not a post on a tenant issues forum, not an email, not just a chat. Certified, with signature required.
It’s legal CYA.
You want a resolution. What’s the media going to do? Call the LL and find out there’s no fix date? The LL can’t replace it as easily as, say, repairing a fire exit. Unless they’re days away from all parts in hand and resolution, you want easier access (a lower floor apt, eg, even if temporary,) or to get out of your contract.
Imo, even asking for reduced rent can show you don’t mind the climb, just want a discount for the inconvenience. That’s not what I thought you want, when you described the physical agony.
Landlord/tenant law is extremely local in nature. Google landlord/tenant law in your city and state. Most areas will have not only their specific regulations, but also resources for help. You might find it worthwhile to take the hour or so to read through the local regulations since there may be very specific requirements for elevator access.
I definitely think you need to figure out what you want. It sounds like you want to stay where you are with your friend but with an elevator that works.
If you are incurring costs specifically related to this (i.e., delivery charge for groceries ), it would be reasonable to ask for those. But to simply want a rent reduction for inconvenience (understandably, because you’re mad at the imposition this has placed on you) is unlikely to get you anywhere.
@TranquilMind gave great advice on getting what you want as well as having what you need as protection against retribution. I suspect your lawyer will help you execute all of that in the context of your local laws.
@TranquilMind , I agree about establishing a paper trail, but more action might be needed. I think it’s good to know going in how to proceed if the first step fails.
You only get a reduction in rent for inconvenience if you incurred costs. For example, if you had to stay in a hotel for 2 days because of no water, you’d get those costs deducted from your rent. You can’t claim unable to use the apartment if you used it.
I think your best bet is to ask for a 1st floor unit and help in moving. There might be other costs like moving utilities and cable.
What transpired during those two weeks you waited for a call back? Did you contact multiple times or just wait until the property manager got around to contacting you? Those two weeks send a strong message to the property manager regarding the urgency of your situation. I can’t get past the fact that you accepted no communication for two weeks.
Thanks for all the suggestions. I do want to stay here—with a working elevator. It would satisfy me to at least get some kind of timeframe for the repair so I can make a plan if I need a temporary place to stay; it’s the sense that nothing is being done that is making it much worse, and impossible to plan around.
I have found a state statute requiring a landlord “maintain in good and safe working order and condition all electrical, plumbing, sanitary, heating, ventilating and other facilities and appliances and elevators, supplied or required to be supplied by him;” I can also ask for an inspection, so I will do that. As soon as I can find who the landlord is, I will send a letter. Is the management company required to tell me if I ask?
I entered three maintenance requests, sent two emails, and called the property management office twice before I got a call back. When I did speak to the property manager, I was very clear how and why the situation is untenable for me.
I want a rent reduction because I may need the money for moving expenses or to live somewhere else, and because the only incentive to spend money on fixing the elevators may be if it costs them some money not to. There are only 5 apartments on 5 floors, so I’m not sure about vacancies, but definitely a last resort. My roommate understands that I may have no choice but to move, but obviously not happy about it, and probably not willing to move with me.
@Himom thanks for your concern. Believe me, my healthcare providers have identified my condition—if they hadn’t, I might not be around.
@scoutsmom, does your friend understand that you BOTH may be asked to find other lodging? If she wants to stay, she may not be given that option as the situation is escalated to get action that addresses your needs.
10% in rent reduction won’t really address you needing to stay elsewhere—it should be framed as needing a refund of your portion of the rent while you are unable to live on the 4th floor unit without an operating elevator. Asking for a 10% rent reduction seems unrelated to expenses you see or will incur from the current situation.
I’m guessing the costs to live elsewhere while awaiting the repair will be much greater than 10% of the rent, but you haven’t listed it articulated such costs.
Agree that having a timetable with projected repair date is s reasonable request, especially in light of the fact that the other elevator has been broken 5 years.
If they say it won’t be repaired, figure out what you’d like as the solution. Get out of the lease? Out of lease and funds or assistance moving? Unit on 1st floor (if any are available)? What does your friend want?
However, I think the advice to read through your local regulations is short-sighted, this is not an area for DIY. You need a talk to a local lawyer who deals with tenant issues.
In my state, for example, you might be entitled to withhold 100% of the rent until the issue is fixed. There could be consumer protection laws that work in your favor. There may be habitability issues requiring the landlord to pay for alternative housing for you until the issues are fixed. It may turn on what is in the lease, and if the lease is even legal or not (many leases have illegal things in them). It may turn out you are screwed and the landlord can do whatever they want, including never fixing the elevator. Unless someone here is a lawyer versed in the laws and regulations where you live, you cannot get effective advice.
A letter from a lawyer threatening action will do far more to light a fire under them than anything you can do. If you can’t afford a few hours of a lawyer’s time, there are often legal aid organizations that love going after landlords.
@scoutsmom the property maintenance company does not have to tell you who owns the building. check your lease to see if the owner is named there. If not check and see if your city/county has property tax records online. Some let you search by address. That could tell you who owns the property. Otherwise with the property ID number the city can tell you who owns the property.
@yourmomma I’m not sure where your information on Chicago elevator maintenance comes from but both the city and the state require annual elevator inspections. If the Chicago elevator fails the inspection they have 60 days to make repairs (as of Jan 1, 2017). The Chicago Apartment Association clearly states that landlords are responsible for maintaining the elevators.
Agree with asking your physician about whether this difficulty climbing stairs is a sign of currently-unknown medical problems, especially if the forced stair climbing has not resulted in any increase in physical fitness (i.e. such that it is not as difficult as before), as would ordinarily be expected.
@GloriaVaughn The first question is whether they need to have an elevator. in Chicago under 10 floors, no elevator required. Thus, a landlord could decommission the elevator all together. The OPs building is only 5 floors, so the question is whether their jurisdiction requires an elevator in the first place.
Sorry, but the first part of post 27 isn’t correct. A reduction can also be given if tenants have reduced use of their unit, or sometimes if something external limits their right to “quiet enjoyment” of their unit. Those are inconveniences that can necessitate a reduction.
Imagine a noisy repair on their building expected to take 3 weeks, but is still in progress 3 months later(this is a real-life example). A reduction does not have to cost the tenant money to be valid.
Glad that some now are understanding the letter to landlord isn’t seen as a cure-all, but rather as a first step. In my state, for example, without serving the landlord written notice of a defect, he cannot be held liable for how long the defect has existed. In other words his “clock” to repair things does not start ticking until he receives written notice. The law is there to prevent unscrupulous tenants from falsifying or exaggerating defects.
Some here are sure right, though, that the tenant needs to know what he/she needs. A reduction? A release from the lease? Even half price rent is no good if the tenant wants to claim the unit is now uninhabitable. A person cannot continue to live in a home and then later claim it could not be lived in.
I think the advice to get medical documentation as to the disability impeding the use of the stairs is an important piece of this. If the building is old and fixing the elevators is not possible and the solution is a new elevator that could be a long long time in the future the medical documentation might be the ticket to be released from the lease. Sounds like the OP wants to stay but what does the OP want to do if the solution is way in the future? While the OP is trying to get reliable information about the elevator status it might be a good idea to figure out where the line in the sand exists in terms of staying or leaving if only something in the OPs mind.
addendum to my post 37-
the purpose of notifying a LL in writing is ALSO to document a defect has been reported. That prevents an unscrupulous LL from claiming he was unaware of a defect.
I think medical documentation could become important. After tenant sees if LL fixes elevator, then, if elevator isn’t fixed, then tenant can look into if LL is required to provide working elevator. If LL is required to do so but doesn’t, then the effects of not having a required elevator come into play.
Hiring the services of a doctor or of a lawyer may become necessary, but at this point it would be premature.