Seven floors

Poor consolation instead of elevator repairs

Mrs. Hopodides and her neighbor are annoyed: they have to climb a lot of stairs to get to their car.(Bild: Martin A. Jöchl)

Tenants of the Karl-Seitz-Hof in Vienna's Floridsdorf district feel mocked: instead of repairs, the private operator of the neighboring underground garage is offering ridiculously low compensation for the daily climb of up to seven floors.

The "Krone" report about the garage next to the Karl-Seitz-Hof in Floridsdorf, where residents have to walk seven floors because the lifts have been out of order for months, caused a stir - and has now finally provoked a reaction from the operator - albeit one that makes the tenants of the garage spaces feel like they are being taken for a ride.

Tenants pay themselves a discount by increasing fees
In a letter, the garage operator BOE is now offering the tenants not the long-awaited repair of the lifts - one has been defective since 2014 (!) - but 20 euros as compensation for climbing the stairs every day. "We feel mocked," complains Ms. Hopodides, one of those affected. What's more, the tenants of the spaces were only informed a few days earlier "about an increase in the monthly fee to just over 115 euros".

The tenants only find the laconic note "water in the shaft" as the reason for the lift breakdown - and instead of the date of the expected commissioning, only scribbles.(Bild: Martin A. Jöchl)

In a statement, BOE denies any blame: "The elevator motor was severely damaged by the heavy rainfall. We immediately commissioned the repair. According to the elevator company responsible, essential parts were not in stock or available and had to be produced separately. Unfortunately, this resulted in a longer outage of the elevator." However, the underground garage has been causing problems since it was built, if only because of the groundwater. 

Water damage is a daily occurrence in the garage, and to make matters worse, the elevator drive units were installed on the lowest floor and are therefore doubly susceptible to damage. However, the garage tenants can now at least hope that one of the elevators will be repaired. "The elevator company responsible has promised to deliver the necessary parts and carry out the repairs by the end of January," promises BOE. So there is still a month to sweat.