I don’t know what else to do, please help!

[Sausagerolleater]

Hi this is my first ever post, I’ve been here for a while and read other people’s posts but have never replied or posted before. I’m not even sure if I’m posting this in the right place so I apologise if not.
I really need some advise if possible please because I just don’t know what else to do. This might be a bit long but I don’t want to miss things out. I have a spinal cord injury so am in a wheelchair and live in an adapted flat that I rent from a housing association. My flat is on the ground floor but there is an underground car park where my car is parked. The only way for me to get to the car park and my car is in a lift. There is a main front door to the building however there are 3 automatic push button fire doors in between and another tenant has decided that he doesn’t want to use the push buttons so has broken them and they are too heavy for me to push open so I can get out that way, there are also no dropped curbs so I can’t get anywhere. Anyway on the 2 March 2025 I was in the lift and it broke down in between floors, the emergency button didn’t work and there was no mobile phone signal, luckily my mum was with me as I have quite bad anxiety and panic attacks so this was my worst nightmare! After more than 2 hours a neighbour happened to notice us in the lift and called the fire service. The fire service got my mum out using a ladder, however it was a little more difficult for them to get me out due to my wheelchair so they had to hoist me out the lift, I was so embarrassed and in huge amounts of pain. The lift was declared unsafe as the floor had become detached from the rest of the lift so we are very lucky we didn’t fall through. The housing association has still not fixed the lift, I keep calling and made a complaint but they just keep saying they are waiting for a part or the engineer got stuck in traffic etc. it’s been almost 3 months of being trapped in my flat and I’m starting to really struggle. I’ve missed multiple medical appointments, I desperately need to see the dentist and my doctor keeps calling me because I’m late with attending routine appointments. Can anyone think of anything I can do to try and get this sorted please? Thank you so much

have made a formal complaint? Contact the housing ombudsman

Could you speak to your local council? I am sure there must be some kind of health and safety department covering residential buildings, even if they are no owned by the council

This is awful , I’d be emailing my local MP , I wish you luck .

Contact your MP if the housing association aren't doing anything.

Contact the local news? I can imagine making their negligence very public might incentivise them.

Haven't you got a PA who can assist you in getting out?

I'd recommend applying for rehousing into a ground floor access property with evidence of your need for rescue and the official complaint - it could be that your MP would intervene as well with the HA, as although they are genuinely restricted if the part is not available, they could be encouraged to find you alternative accommodation even if the local authority waiting list is longer.

FIL had the same problem in privately rented accommodation after a stroke - the OT at the hospital contacted the property management company and the six months of waiting for a part suddenly resolved itself by the end of the week, which may be coincidental, but might not, as repairs contractors aren't particularly proactive with some contracts unless they've got the client on at them to fix it.

I'd also include concerns about escape in the event of a fire.

They could find themselves deep in the legal shit if their fire doors are non-compliant. That may be what gets them to take action

How are you supposed to get out in a fire?

HA are going to find themselves in real trouble here - and good.

Thanks so much for your replies, I’ll try and answer the questions here. Regarding the formal complaint, at first I only made verbal complaints, I stupidly trusted the housing association to fix it quickly so it wasn’t until May that I made the formal complaint and they have until 3 June to reply and the housing ombudsman won’t get involved until then. The complaints man did promise to call me yesterday morning for an update but he still hasn’t called.
My mum is 71 so unfortunately can’t manage me and my wheelchair. My electric chair can’t get down the curbs as they aren’t dropped so I have to go in my manual wheelchair where someone pushes me and bumps me down the curbs, if that makes sense, I do have a couple of family members who are strong enough to do that it’s just so painful for me being jolted around so I’m trying to avoid it unless there is a real emergency.
I contacted the occupational therapist that was involved in my care previously and she told me to ask for a reassessment. I don’t know if there is anyone else at the council who can help.

Sorry I forgot to answer a couple, my sister emailed a local newspaper about 6 weeks ago and we didn’t hear anything back, my mum emailed the mail online, the local MP and the CEO of the housing association, we haven’t heard anything back yet apart from the standard ‘we’ve got your email’ reply so hopefully we will hear back from them soon.
The housing association did offer to put me in a hotel but I have an assistance dog and they couldn’t accommodate her so I couldn’t go because I would find it quite difficult to manage without her

I’m sorry what’s a PA?

I would contact the Fire Brigade and share your concerns about the fire doors being broken and how you wouldn't be able to get out in an emergency.

The tenant who broke the fire doors lives next door to me and he has quite serious mental health problems and the police are here all the time. As soon as the housing association fix the doors, he breaks them again. I have a doorbell camera and one of the fire doors is directly in front of my front door so I have video evidence of him breaking them everytime they are fixed but they aren’t allowed to look at the footage because apparently I could have manipulated the date and time stamp! I am really worried about a fire although I’m hoping that my adrenaline would give me the strength to open the door if there are flames and smoke coming towards me! I did have a fire inspection last week, they said it’s a new thing because of Grenfell Tower Fire and he was concerned because I had never had a PEEP completed which is a form of escape plan I believe, and that in the event of a fire I don’t have anyway to escape, he said he would write it in his report and advise the housing association.

That really does make it sound as though the accommodation is entirely unsuitable for your needs, as it's not just the unmaintained lift and damaged fire doors, it's the lack of level access and the need for your assistance dog (which they should have ensured would be accepted, as it's illegal for the hotel to refuse one).

A shameful and potentially dangerous situation. I feel so angry for you. The tenant who is breaking the fire doors needs sorting out and rehousing. It’s disgusting they won’t accept your evidence. You cannot put up with this. Keep nagging your MP, he should be working on your behalf, and your GP be using his influence to help too. Is there no organisation for the disabled that could help you?

Not all wheelchair users have a PA

This is the first time I have wished the Daily Mail would pick up this thread. Although that would not be enough. They will need to shame the people responsible very publicly.

Would you feel up to posting pictures of the building, OP? I can understand if you don´t want to. It would be extremely outing and you´d have no idea what weirdos would do in response.

This is disgraceful and I'm really sorry you aren't getting more help.

At this stage, I would be on Twitter, posting and tagging housing association, Ombudsman, TDs, Department of housing, national news channels, papers etc.

Local councillors are often better than MPs in situations like this.

Disgraceful you’ve been left like this. I’d be making a formal complaint with the council, the HA and contacting local mp. Do you have a social worker? If not you can ask for an adult disability duty social worker and they can take it further and advocate for you.

I work in health & safety and I would contact your local HSE office. You need to escalate this situation and after Grenfell, they should act much swifter with regards to fire safety. It’s against the law for you to not have emergency access & egress at all times.

Try ringing the local fire brigade and ask for advice based on the fire risk assessment the housing have done.

Personally I'd be asking if they can move you to a bungalow or more suitable accommodation. No pedestrian access, a lift to you car and faulty fire doors is making you a prisoner in your own home.

I would try social media for the local council, MP, housing association and papers. Create some noise and you might be heard.

I'm sorry this is taking so long. I had similar with an elderly relative. They changed the front door to a fire door which was too heavy for her to pull open and it took years to argue and never resolve

Fucking hell that's awful.

Have you reported the criminal damage to the fire door to the police yourself? If not please do, it seems bizarre that they wouldn't accept your ring doorbell footage and I wonder if that's just something the housing association has (mis)lead you to believe.

Other than that: please keep on at your MP, and emphasise the fire risk (I would suggest emailing them yourself, as well as having your mum do it).