All you need to know about your rights if your apartment block lift breaks down

More and more apartment blocks and flats are springing up in our towns and cities as successive governments try to tackle the housing shortage – but if these  high-rise residents suffer a lift breakdown it can become a living nightmare. 

Apartment living can offer amazing access to our nation’s urban spaces, but it also often comes with caveats such as additional payments for ground rent and service charge. 

And one of the key areas of concern for apartment residents can be who pays for and maintains things in the communal areas of the building when they need repair, especially for vital infrastructure like lifts. 

Residents might be living in flats in different circumstances, either as a leaseholder, renting or as a council or housing association tenant, but everyone is affected when a lift is out of order. 

In extreme cases there are reports from up and down the country of people being left without a working lift for months, even years, leading to some left feeling like a prisoner in their own home. 

Do you live in an apartment block and have a story about how the lift has been out of order for a very long time? contact [email protected] 

Express.co.uk has asked the experts at The Property Ombudsman (TPO) a not-for-profit Government-approved independent company offering housing advice and redress, for their top tips on tackling a broken lift.

They said: "The RICS Service Charge Residential Management Code is approved by the Secretary of State (under the Approval of Code of Management Practice (Residential Management) (Service Charges) (England) Order 2016). These are the standards we apply when determining best practice in leasehold matters.

"The particular section concerning repairs is 9.2 which says (in summary) that: leaseholders should be told how and to whom repairs should be reported; managers should deal promptly with leaseholder reports of disrepair which are the landlord’s responsibility.

"Managers should keep residents informed of any actions or proposed actions; managers should notify residents of target timescales for responses to repairs; and, depending on the nature of the repair and its impact, residents should be informed of contractors’ start dates and any contact details prior to works being commenced."

"It also reminds managers that repair work should be cost-effective, taking into account its durability and expense, and that in certain circumstances work which is considered not to be of a reasonable standard can be the subject of court action on the basis of a breach of contract."

The TPO said for those living in retirement properties they could look at the ARHM Private Retirement Housing Codes in which  "obligations are enhanced in various areas to reflect the vulnerability of the residents, but the repair obligations are broadly similar".

They added: "Though we cannot enforce repairs, The Property Ombudsman can consider the aggravation and distress experienced by a resident where we can see this has been caused by a managing agent’s actions.

"This could be causing delays, failing to inform them about the progress of repairs affecting them and/or explain the reason for certain charges (we could provide a case study if helpful). We can also direct the agent to provide information that confirms the status of the works.

"If the freeholder has not met their repair obligations under the lease, leaseholders may consider utilising the Housing Disrepair Protocol to claim damages from their freeholder.

"They can also seek a decision from the First-Tier Tribunal as to whether service charges are reasonable, or they can ask for a temporary manager to be appointed by the Tribunal to resolve a certain issue or issues.

"If there are urgent healthy and safety concerns, however, we recommend residents approach their local authority and ask them to inspect, given their enforcement powers. Finally, leaseholders can seek free advice from the Leasehold Advisory Service about a range of leasehold matters and how best to address them."

For more advice visit the The Property Ombudsman website.