Fixing a broken elevator could soon become law — but you might still have to wait 14 days
Proposed legislation would force contractors to fix elevators within two weeks for residential buildings
Waiting 45 minutes for an elevator, getting stuck in one or having to walk down 16 floors — this is the reality for Myra Piat, who says there's rarely a full complement of elevators at her 26-floor building near St. Clair and Spadina.
"There are three elevators and sometimes there aren't any that are working, sometimes there is one," she says. "It's a chronic problem."
Relief for those problems could soon be on the way with the Reliable Elevators Act, a private members bill introduced by Trinity-Spadina MPP Han Dong.
Here's what the proposed legislation encompasses:
- elevators in residential buildings would have to be fixed within 14 days
- elevators in seniors' homes and long-term care facilities would have to be fixed within 7 days
- applications for new building permits would have to include an elevator traffic analysis
Currently, any building over seven storeys is only required to have one elevator. There are also no regulations or bylaws in place to make sure elevators are repaired in a timely manner.
Dong conducted months of consultations with residents in his riding, which he said is undergoing "unprecedented growth."
"One resident told me that when the elevator goes out of service, seniors in his building, who cannot use the stairs, become trapped in their apartment. They cannot go out for groceries and they sometimes have to give up their medical appointments," he said.
Piat has also witnessed this in her building, and said the problem is about more than just convenience.
"It creates a lot of stress for people and I think it's a real safety issue for elderly people, for care going in," she said.
Piat believes the bill's idea is good in principle, but the 14 and 7-day timeframes should be shorter.
"We've gone weekends without elevators," she said, arguing 24 hours would be a more reasonable timeframe for repairs.
Dong agrees with Piat's sentiment, saying "two weeks is a long time for any condo owner to suffer" but adds that he came up with the timeframes after consulting with industry experts.
How the legislation would work
The bill would amend the definition of a consumer under the Consumer Protection Act, effectively making the building owner a consumer and the contractor a service provider.
The approach would subject contractors to a wide range of punitive measures — such as black-listing, public shaming, or prosecution — that exist under the Consumer Protection Act and which the Consumer Services Ministry already enforces. They could also face fines ranging from $50,000 to $250,000.
The current form of the proposed legislation only covers residential buildings, long-term care facilities and seniors' homes but Dong believes it will "start a chain of change that will ultimately affect commercial buildings as well."
With files from The Canadian Press