A 70-year-old Chicago tenant says she has been effectively trapped in her third-floor flat for more than eight months after the building’s lift broke down, leaving her struggling to attend medical appointments and fearful for her safety.
Yvette Thomas, who lives in a subsidised apartment on South Michigan Avenue, said her health and mobility problems meant the lift was essential rather than a convenience.
“I just want to get out of this apartment alive because I never know from one day to the next what’s going to happen,” she said.
Tenant says lift failure has left her trapped
Thomas said she had undergone several operations, needed daily medication and medical care, and had fallen repeatedly. She moved into the five-storey building about three years ago after spending two years in a nursing home.
She said the lift had been working when she arrived and that she had been placed in the building because it offered step-free access.
“This was the building that they put me in because they knew I had the elevator,” she said.
An inspection by local television reporters found that the lift did not respond when called. The building entrance could also be accessed without a key or being admitted through a buzzer system.
Reporters said they saw damaged mailboxes, detected a strong smell of urine and spotted a cockroach inside the building. In Thomas’s flat, a large section of the ceiling was missing.
Thomas said water had entered through the damaged ceiling and soaked electrical equipment and cables. She also said her personal emergency alert system stopped working after the equipment was exposed to water.
She said management had not given her a timetable for repairing the ceiling.
“Fear for my life,” Thomas said when asked how she felt living in the property. “It’s unsafe.”
Rent arrears and five-day notice
Thomas said her accommodation was supported through Catholic Charities, with her own contribution previously amounting to “three hundred and something dollars” a month.
She acknowledged that she was now more than $10,000 behind on her share of the rent. She said she stopped paying after medication delivered to the building was stolen, forcing her to choose between replacing the medicine and paying her rent.
“You have to choose rent or medicine, exactly,” she said. “And I will die without that medicine.”
Thomas said she had since received a five-day notice. She also said Catholic Charities had inspected the property and told management that repairs were required.
Property manager disputes claims
Regalshore Property Management, which runs the building, rejected the suggestion that Thomas’s repair requests had been ignored.
The company said its records showed that she had regularly reported problems through its maintenance system and that staff had responded. It said there were no outstanding maintenance work orders for her flat.
Regalshore said an earlier report of suspected mould in the bathroom had been investigated, with staff finding soap and grime around the tiles rather than mould.
The company acknowledged the lift problem but declined to give a date for its return to service, saying repairs involved a third-party contractor and remained subject to troubleshooting and further service visits.
Regalshore also said it had taken steps to address concerns about unauthorised access, including using security staff and working with police and local community organisations. Reporters visiting the building said they saw no security guard and were able to enter without being challenged.
The management company denied that Thomas’s five-day notice was retaliation for her complaints. It said her housing representative had requested a notarised notice so that financial assistance could be sought for the outstanding balance.
Regalshore said the amount owed was still being reconciled because the account included both rental assistance and tenant payments.
Thomas, who said she had worked in healthcare as a phlebotomist, care assistant and emergency medical technician, said the conditions had left her sleeping for only an hour or two at a time.
“I don’t sleep here,” she said. “That’s why I’m so tired.”
