Condo Smarts: Operational elevator a basic requirement Lack of accessibility can put strata association at risk Tony Gioventu May 25, 2024 7:15 AM Share by Email Share on Facebook Share on X Share on LinkedIn Print Share via Text Message Tony Gioventu is the executive director of the Condominium Home Owners Association of B.C. SUBMITTED Listen to this article 00:03:24 Dear Tony: We live in a 22-floor building in Metro Vancouver with two elevators.
Owners received notice a week prior that one of our two elevators will be out of commission for two to three months undergoing an overhaul. The work started last week and on Friday night our second elevator failed. The council refused to make an emergency call and waited until Tuesday morning after the long weekend for service.
There are many seniors with accessibility issues, and several people in wheelchairs. Fortunately, there were no medical emergencies over the weekend, but owners were prisoners in their building until Tuesday afternoon when the second elevator was finally operating, and many owners were in a dire situation over groceries running low, and families unable to get out with their children and pets. Basically, no one above the 10th floor left the building for the long weekend.
How do we prevent this from happening again? Ms. M. Wilson An operational elevator for accessibility is a basic requirement under the B.
C. Human Rights Code. Accessibility to multi-family buildings has been an adjudicated dispute on several oc.
