To this day, Isabel Chalmers still can’t take an elevator alone. It’s a bit of a joke in her office, but to her, what she experienced that day in her condo building was anything but.
When her husband reached the front desk he put pressure on staff to come up with a plan. They told him the elevator mechanic had been called and would come as soon as possible. Those four companies build the elevators in such a way that only they can supply many of the parts to repair them, and sometimes those parts come from overseas, resulting in long wait times. As a result, large numbers of condo residents are finding themselves out of breath and frustrated as they hike the stairs, climbing as many as 20, 30 or 40 floors to get home, while the elderly and those with disabilities can find themselves held prisoner in their units for days at a time.
“I could have handled it better, but I really wasn’t doing well in there,” she said. Her husband eventually called 911 to get a faster response, which the front desk said they wouldn’t do because of the cost, she said. The TSSA also points out that non-permanent injuries have declined by almost half from 2013 to 2022. However more minor incidents — such as tripping because the elevator isn’t levelling properly with the building floor or doors closing on people — have risen by 40 per cent during the same time.
In addition, condo owners find it too costly to take legal action against large maintenance companies that don’t fix elevators in a timely manner. They also find it difficult to switch to different maintenance companies due to “ironclad contracts” and elevator systems that require the use of proprietary technology.
The lifespan of an elevator is around 20 to 25 years, meaning buildings are often stuck with the elevator construction company to maintain the elevator for half its lifespan. On average it would take the company five business days to respond to the building management’s service calls, she said. Switching to another maintenance company wasn’t possible, because the building was in a long-term contract with the company.
“For competitive reasons, we do not disclose a majority of the information requested. That said, globally, Otis maintains approximately 2.2 million customer units, which is the industry’s largest service portfolio,” Otis said in an email statement, adding elevator services are designed to deliver “maximum uptime, and safe, comfortable rides.”
Often, elevator companies assign one mechanic to 30 residential buildings. Whereas for commercial real estate, one mechanic is assigned to two or three buildings, said Murray Johnson, director of the Canadian Condominium Institute, a non-profit organization dealing exclusively with condominium issues.
“Elevator modernization can now take up to 12 weeks,” he said. “If the parts aren’t available, contractors tell building owners what they need to be doing to upgrade the system. But it’s up to the condo owners to proceed with the work.” Some high-risk orders, such as elevator doors closing too quickly and exerting too much force, will result in the immediate shutdown of the elevator until the issue is fixed. Low-risk infractions, such as a signature missing from a log book, will be reviewed at the next periodic inspection, the TSSA’s Campbell said.