Elevator guides
Plain-English explainers for tenants, office workers, and riders — what to do when an elevator is broken, what your rights are, and how to report it.
- Broken elevator: what it means, your rights, and how to report itIf the elevator in your building is broken, you have options: report it, document it, and escalate. A plain-language guide for tenants, workers, and anyone sharing a cab with a stranger at 6 a.m.
- Elevator code: ASME A17.1, local adoption, and what it means for tenantsASME A17.1 is the US safety code for elevators and escalators. Here's what it covers, how it's adopted into state and city law, and what the rules mean for tenants, workers, and riders.
- Elevator inspection: how often, what's checked, and how to read the certificateHow to know if your building's elevator is overdue for inspection, what inspectors check, what the inspection certificate means, and what to do if the certificate is missing or expired.
- Elevator out of service: what it means and what to doAn elevator out of service means the cab has been taken offline for repair or inspection. Tenants and workers have rights, repair deadlines vary by jurisdiction, and documenting the outage matters.
- Elevator safety: what riders, tenants, and workers should knowModern elevators are one of the safest forms of transport, but there are warning signs worth recognizing, habits worth keeping, and reporting paths worth knowing.
- Escalator accidents: causes, injury patterns, and what to doEscalator accidents send thousands of people to emergency rooms each year in the US, with falls concentrated among seniors and entrapment injuries among children. What causes them, how to avoid them, and how to report a broken escalator.
- How long can an elevator be out of service? Rules by jurisdictionRepair deadlines, landlord obligations, and tenant remedies for a broken elevator in New York, Massachusetts, California, Illinois, London, and Toronto, plus federal ADA. Hedged where law is unsettled.
- How to report a broken elevatorA decision-tree guide for tenants, office workers, and transit riders. Report to the building first, then escalate to the right public channel, then add the outage to the public record.
- Stuck in an elevator: what to do right nowPress the emergency call button, stay calm, don't force the doors, and wait for help. Modern elevators are designed so riders stay safe while help arrives.