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Lift broken

davehxxl
davehxxl Community member Posts: 1 Listener
My parents are both registered disabled and are 85 years old. My father has dementia and my mother a hip replacement, they cannot get up to the third floor without the lift because they cant manage the stairs. the lift needs major work doing on it and they have been told it may be out of action for up to 6 weeks. They own the flat leasehold and own 1 19th of the freehold along with 19 other leaseholders that each owns there flat. there are four directors. please, can you advise me what laws cover them in regards to the lift being out of use for so long and what steps I can take to help them as they will be potentially trapped in the flat for all of this time without a lift .thank you. David .

Comments

  • steve51
    steve51 Community member Posts: 7,153 Disability Gamechanger
    Hi @davehxxl

    Welcome to our online family/website.

    Please please have a good look around & please let me know if you need any help/support ?????

    I have provided some info for you below:

    https://www.scope.org.uk/support/services/supported-living

    https://www.scope.org.uk/support/services/information

    This one is one off our "Housing  Advisors" who will offer you some help !!!!

    https://community.scope.org.uk/categories/ask-a-housing-and-independent-living-advisor

    Please let me know if you require "help & support ???

    Thanks.
  • Debbie_Alumni
    Debbie_Alumni Community member Posts: 932 Pioneering
    Hi @davehxxl,

    Welcome to the community. 

    I'm really sorry but this is really quite a complex query and would be better directed to the Leasehold Advisory Service. As your parent's are both leaseholders and partial freeholders, I'm not sure where the law stands.
    I think the most sensible thing to do initially, is to talk to the other freeholders to see if you can work out between yourselves what adjustments can be made during this period of work. A leaseholder can ask for reasonable adjustments but the freeholder/s have to agree to this and it will usually be at the cost of the leaseholder, even if the adjustments are in communal areas. An example would be a stair lift. The building would then need to be checked to see if a stair lift (for example) would be suitable for the type and design of the building. There could be legal covenants in the lease which prohibit certain works or changes to the building and all of these things will need to be taken into consideration and can be quite a lengthy process with lots of negotiating and potentially costly legal advice.
    I place emphasis on the word 'could' in the above paragraph because you would need to check out the terms of the leasehold and the freehold. This could take a really long time to sort out, so much will depend on how imminent the works are.

    In terms of how to try and mitigate the disruption during the works, there's a few things to think about.

    The options to consider are: 

    1. Contact your Local Authority Adult Social Care team. An Occupational Therapist will be able to advise you whether there is any equipment available that can assist your parents in getting up and down the stairs. This might not be a quick process either if there are waiting times for an assessment. There's no harm in asking for advice though.
    2. Remaining in the flat for the duration of the works and having groceries and other essentials delivered to the door. Not ideal if you're independent and go out regularly, but there is a possibility that this will happen. Could family or friends help your parents up and down the stairs or it physically impossible? Would they need to be carried up and down the stairs and if so, who would do the carrying if the right equipment was available such as a chair stretcher?
    3. Staying with family or friends for the duration of the works, if the accommodation is suitable for them.
    4. Staying in a hotel or bed and breakfast.

    These are my initial thoughts and I hope it's helped. Please let us know how you get on what you did to sort this out. It's really helpful for others reading this who might be experiencing similar difficulties. 

    Best wishes
    Debbie

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