AUSTIN, Texas — For months, some residents at SkyHouse Austin on Rainey Street say a basic part of daily life, getting to and from their apartments, has turned into a struggle as elevator outages left tenants waiting, climbing stairs and worrying about neighbors who can’t.

Major Oswald, who lives on the 22nd floor, said the situation has been so frustrating that he wants to leave.

“I see people moving in, and like, I just want to tell them to run away,” Oswald said.

Residents said two of the building’s three elevators were out for months, leaving everyone dependent on a single working elevator. They said that last elevator later went out as well.

Aditya Tumuluri, a SkyHouse resident, said, “We’re dependent on our elevators.” He added, “It’s quite frustrating. I really enjoy Sky House, I think it’s a great building, and you know, the community is great, people are great, staff is great,” but he says elevators have been the problem.

Thomas Hughes, another resident, said the outages have been a major issue for tenants.

“It definitely bothers people a lot,” Hughes said. “There’s a few older folks that live in the building, even on the upper floors. I don’t really know how they’re able. They basically have to wait for the elevator, and if all three are down, I don’t even know how they would be able to get up.”

Residents said getting home could mean waiting up to 20 minutes for the one working elevator or taking the stairs.

In a Sept. 24 email, management described the situation as an extended elevator outage, saying replacement parts had been ordered but could take six to eight weeks to arrive.

Raja Sampathi, a resident who called with concerns a couple of months ago, said he decided to stop focusing on the frustration and instead try to encourage neighbors.

“Yeah, I was frustrated and either I could take my energy to complain or do something positive and I decided to do this,” Sampathi said. He said he made stickers and handed them to neighbors near the elevator that read: “This too shall pass, Sky House.”

ALSO | Austin man says Airbnb host canceled stay days before trip

Oswald said waiting it out and climbing the stairs has been harder for him. He has a sprained ankle and has been dealing with breathing problems.

“It’s hot, it’s tiring, it is exhausting. If there’s a couple people on crutches, so there’s just a lot of people that can’t make it up and down,” he said.

Oswald said he has left his apartment because of the situation.

“Yeah, I’ve actually just left the apartment. So I’m staying at a friend’s house,” he said.

Residents said they are also concerned about neighbors who cannot use the stairs because of a disability.

“It is affecting the day-to-day mobility of a lot of people,” Tumuluri said.

Rachel Cohen-Miller, supervising attorney with Disability Rights Texas, said elevator outages are a common issue.

“So unfortunately, this is not uncommon. We deal with elevators being downed consistently. And it’s a problem that people face in Texas almost every day,” Cohen-Miller said.

Leah Downey-Gallatin, special project director with the Austin Tenants Council, said landlords generally have a legal responsibility to address issues that affect safety or health.

“So generally, a landlord has a legal duty to repair conditions that affect your safety or health. Not being able to get up and down from your unit counts,” she said.

MORE | Woman warns of ticket scams after paying for free tailgate

Downey-Gallatin said tenants may be able to terminate a lease without penalty under certain circumstances.

“One is at the same time that you sort of gain the ability to sue in justice court, you also gain the ability to terminate your lease without a penalty,” she said.

She added that people with disabilities may have another path. “But maybe the request is just to be released early from your lease. That’s fair game to ask for as a disability accommodation,” Downey-Gallatin said.

Cohen-Miller said disability accommodations can include demanding repairs or seeking to leave without added costs.

“Generally, what we see is either fix it now or let me out of my lease and don’t charge me extra,” she said. “So if you’re a person with a disability and you need the elevator to use and enjoy your housing, so without the elevator, you can’t leave, you can come into your housing. You can’t go grocery shopping, go to the doctor. Then you can ask them for an accommodation.”

SkyHouse did not directly answer questions about why the elevators were not fixed sooner or whether it would offer compensation or let people out of their leases. The company said two elevators went out after an August kitchen fire and that a separate service issue took out the third. SkyHouse said two elevators are now operating, with work continuing on the last one.

Oswald said he doesn’t understand why action didn’t come sooner. Asked about his hope, he said, “Let me leave, please. Let me leave this building.”

Experts said renters dealing with similar problems should document everything, including photos and videos, and make repair or accommodation requests in writing.

“Yes, take photos, take videos, accumulate evidence, and when it comes to whether a landlord is making diligent efforts, it’s really helpful to sort of document all the times that they’ve told you someone was coming and maybe nobody came, or all the time when you’ve communicated with them and they haven’t responded,” Downey-Gallatin said.