Residents say they fear for their lives every time they get into the cranky 34-year-old lift in their apartment building in North Sydney, and accuse their strata committee of "sheer bastardry" for refusing to replace it.
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The lift rarely stops on the fifth floor where owner Denise Hunt lives; it often descends straight to the basement regardless of which button is pressed, and it regularly doesn't stop flush on occupants' landings.
"It is seriously dangerous and although it's repaired regularly, it's never long before it goes wrong again," says Ms Hunt, 68, who has to climb the stairs whenever the lift ignores her level.
"Everyone has been complaining about it bitterly for years and while we've got the money in the sinking fund, it seems to be sheer bastardry that the committee won't replace it. It slams shut so hard, you're worried that you'll catch your arm in it, it makes so much noise, and I'm scared every time I get into it that it will crash to the bottom."
That's also a dread that haunts neighbour Nathan Swale's wife, who usually prefers to take the stairs. He's a senior facilities manager for Mirvac, looking after shopping centres, so he says he knows all about assets and their end-of-life cycle.
"My wife feels scared in the lift and is scared to get into it because she doesn't trust it and thinks she could well get stuck in it. It's very dangerous in my opinion, and my business is all about identifying, and mitigating, risks."
"It's only a matter of time before someone is going to trip on the edge of the lift as it doesn't meet the floor and do serious damage or break their neck and sue us."
"Our main bedroom also backs on to the lift shaft and so there's so much noise all night, every night, particularly when the shift worker in the block comes back at 3am and the early morning jogger leaves at 5am. Only two of the seven people on the committee live here and the rest are investors. For them, maybe it's out of sight, out of mind."
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The six-storey, 36-unit building, The Chancellor, is on the corner of Bay Road and the Pacific Highway. Lift maintenance technicians have visited the building on numerous occasions to try to remedy the faults.
But secretary of the strata committee Jan Newland says a lift consultant has been brought in to look at the situation, but she cannot say what his verdict is. A majority of owners at an AGM held in September also voted not to pay for a new lift.
"In my view, we are doing everything we can to get it sorted through the proper channels. When you live in strata, you can't expect to click your fingers and magically the problems disappear tomorrow."
Another independent lift consultant who has inspected the lift, however, John Thomson of Thomson Elevator Consultancy Services, has recommended either a major upgrade, or a replacement lift.
"If I were an owner living there, I'd be pushing for a new lift, too," Mr Thomson says. "It would probably cost only 5 per cent more than a major upgrade. It's like a motor car. If you had a car that was over 30 years old, and only drive it on a Sunday afternoon, it might be fine.
"But if you were using it every day and depended on it, then better to buy a new one. That lift is operating pretty well as per its design brief of over 30 years ago, but the way it's operating at the moment creates trip hazards from time to time, and doesn't comply with the latest codes and standards, and the ride, reliability and the noise it makes is well below what people expect in an apartment building."
The chair of the building, Mark Neighbour, did not return Domain's calls, but sent out an email to all members of the strata committee instructing them not to answer calls or speak to the media until he had spoken to a legal adviser. He said he felt the committee needed to appoint a legal firm to look into the matter, the cost of which would have to come out of the levies.
Two years ago, it was recommended at an AGM that owners seek three quotes for a new lift, but none have not been taken up. Strata manager of the block, Tony Irvine of Irvine Strata Management, said it was not an issue he could comment on.
Strata lawyer Stephen Goddard recommended that, if the strata committee, were uncooperative and Ms Hunt and Mr Swale felt they had a good case, they should commence a dispute resolution process under the legislation.
"They could file a mediation application alleging the owners corporation is failing to repair and maintain common property and if the owners corporation elects not to mediate, then they need to commence proceedings at NCAT," he said.
It could also be an issue under the building's insurance, believes Paul Keating, managing director at Strata Community Insurance. "The fact that problems have been reported to the owners corporation does put greater onus on them individually to make sure the lift is safe and workable," he says.
"It might be argued that the owners corporation hadn't acted in good faith to discharge its responsibilities and taken steps to prevent foreseeable damage. If the lift doesn't stop level with the floors that's an obvious tripping hazard, especially for a visitor who may be unaware of problems."
The lift often stops as much as 20cm below or above the landing, says Ms Hunter, who's suffering from cancer and says the stress is making things worse. "The lack of sleep caused by the noise of the lift often makes things worse," she says.
Mr Swale says the committee just need to put up a special levy as well as use the cash in the sinking fund to either upgrade or fix the lift. "It's just a nightmare," he says. "We just need to fix the bloody thing."