The elevator of an apartment building on the Lei in Veldhoven broke down again on Saturday. It is the fifth time in three weeks. According to the housing corporation, it is not necessary to replace the elevator, but the residents are fed up with it. Many people who rely on the elevator live in the six-storey building. “The housing company really needs to do something about it now.”
The apartment building has one elevator, which is regularly broken. According to residents, this has happened every month for the past six months. This Saturday residents can suddenly no longer use it. And that while the elevator was repaired less than three days ago. “Friday, the door of the elevator made a strange, faltering sound again,” says resident Joyce.
Several residents heard the strange noise and became concerned again. “It really didn’t sound right,” says Joyce. Those concerns soon turned out to be justified. “Today I came back with my shopping and then the elevator stopped working. It got stuck somewhere between the fifth and sixth floors.”
Many people live in the flat who really need the elevator. Now that he is not working again, there are, for example, the elderly, people with prams and people with health problems who can no longer leave the building.
Joyce immediately called KONE, the elevator’s engineer. “He told me they won’t accept any more breakdowns from us because the elevator keeps breaking down. They’ve already replaced parts a few times, but that’s not enough. He made me call the housing association,” she says.
“This is a recurring problem.”
She got someone from Woonbedrijf on the phone via the emergency line. “It was very high to me. I told them a bit irritated what was going on and then only got to hear that they thought it was annoying for us. We’ve been hearing that for six months now, it’s no use to us,” says Joyce angry.
In the end, it was arranged that the technician would come by this Saturday to repair the lift. But that’s not enough for the residents. They can no longer rely on the elevator to continue working for a long time. “We are sick and tired of Woonbedrijf. This is a recurring problem. They have to replace the elevator, but they don’t want to. That is very frustrating.”
The residents do not feel heard by the housing corporation. They therefore hope to be able to talk to Woonbedrijf one day. “We also pay monthly service costs. I think they should at least help us by reducing them, but they don’t want to do that either.”
“An elevator just has to work.”
Woonbedrijf informed Omroep Brabant in a response on Wednesday that the complete replacement of the elevator is not an option. “Maintenance is of course done, according to a multi-year maintenance plan. Then parts are replaced so that the lift can last for a while,” the housing corporation wrote.
The lift is periodically inspected by the Lift Institute. “But we understand that if the lift does not work a number of times in quick succession, this will cause frustration. That is of course very annoying for our residents, because a lift simply has to work.”
READ ALSO: Elevator in flat keeps breaking down: ‘Sometimes we can’t go outside for days’