Hi everyone, I've name changed for this as I don't want my usual posts linked.
My widowed father (relatively healthy 80 yr old) has a flat in an 8 storey apartment block with a warden, but all the residents are independent and there is no care provision. The block has 5 flats on each floor and my father is on the top floor.
The managing agents have written to the leaseholders to say that they will not have access to the only lift for six weeks later on this year. Has anyone come across this situation before? Clearly very few residents living above the 2nd floor will be able to use the stairs on a regular basis, and definitely not on higher floors (think shopping etc). Many of the residents have mobility scooters and so this is going to be a massive pain.
I suppose my immediate thoughts are around lack of access to their property, should there be alternative accommodation provision, temporary storage of belongings etc. What about watering plants on his terrace (has absolutely loads, they would die if left that long). But to be honest it's come out of the blue and wasn't something we thought we would have to manage. He will have to find temporary accommodation as none of us have room. And this will no doubt be at the height of the summer school holidays, so a more expensive time of year.
So if you know of similar situations and wouldn't mind sharing what happened from both a legal, and practical, perspective, that would be lovely. I realise this is a bit of a niche problem and it does make me understand now why retirement properties tend to either have more than one lift, or are low level builds! Many thanks.