Why are so many condo elevators out of service? Experts say just four companies control most of the market — and oversight is poor

To this day, Isabel Chalmers still can't take an elevator alone. It's a bit of a joke in her office, but to her, what she experienced that day in her condo building was anything but.

She remembers leaving her unit on the sixth floor, stepping into the elevator with a fellow resident, and pressing the button to the main lobby. The elevator began to descend. Then, a sudden drop - and they stopped moving.

She pressed the emergency button but wasn't given clear direction from the building's staff on what to do or how to get out. Eventually she was told someone would come and rescue them, but there was no word on how long it would take.

My phone had no signal, but luckily the other person I was with had some reception," she said. I managed to call my husband."

When her husband reached the front desk he put pressure on staff to come up with a plan. They told him the elevator mechanic had been called and would come as soon as possible.

I was really scared because the elevator felt unstable," Chalmers said. I remember I was hyperventilating."

Chalmers is part of an ever-growing number of condo dwellers in Toronto who face a daily challenge when trying to enter and exit their buildings: elevators that malfunction - or don't function at all. There are many reasons: aging condo stock, a lack of elevator mechanics due to an ongoing labour shortage, condo boards that fail to maintain elevators properly.

But increasingly, experts and politicians are pointing their fingers at oversight of the near monopoly that exists when it comes to elevator installation and repair in Toronto. Just four major companies build 90 per cent of the elevators in Ontario and they maintain more than half of them, limiting competition.

Those four companies build the elevators in such a way that only they can supply many of the parts to repair them, and sometimes those parts come from overseas, resulting in long wait times. As a result, large numbers of condo residents are finding themselves out of breath and frustrated as they hike the stairs, climbing as many as 20, 30 or 40 floors to get home, while the elderly and those with disabilities can find themselves held prisoner in their units for days at a time.

The situation become so dire that in 2018 the auditor general launched an investigation and found large elevator companies are the primary cause for worsening elevator safety," after failing to maintain elevators for years." Every year since the report, around 80 per cent of elevators have failed their regulatory safety inspections and the number of reported incidents - such as doors closing on people - have almost doubled, shooting to 637 in 2022 from 382 in 2013.

Since the auditor general's investigation, little progress has been made by the regulator, industry experts say, and the problem is becoming increasingly urgent as more Toronto residents rely on elevators to leave and enter their homes. The city is set to build a record 25,000 condominium units in 2023, with an additional 100,000 units set to be completed between 2024 and 2028. Meanwhile, condos are getting taller with new builds averaging 25 storeys - up from 16 storeys before 2000, according to research firm Urbanation.

The elevator malfunction Chalmers endured was so traumatic, it helped lead to the couple's decision to leave the building. They felt they simply couldn't trust the elevators any more.

I could have handled it better, but I really wasn't doing well in there," she said. Her husband eventually called 911 to get a faster response, which the front desk said they wouldn't do because of the cost, she said. (Condo management did not respond to the Star's request for comment on the incident.)

Some 30 minutes later the fire department arrived and got both residents out - after they'd spent more than an hour trapped inside the steel box. I've never had a phobia before, but now I have one," Chalmers said. We moved to a house, and it's a massive relief just taking the stairs."

Agency slammed for poor oversight

Elevator outages and delays have been an issue in Ontario for more than a decade. By 2017 the issue had become so problematic the provincial government asked the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) - a regulatory authority that enforces public safety - to commission an independent report on elevator availability.

The study was completed by the Hon. J. Douglas Cunningham, who provided a number of recommendations, including addressing the elevator mechanic labour shortage, creating standards for elevator repair time lines, and collecting data on elevator outages to be made publicly available.

A year later, auditor general Bonnie Lysyk investigated the TSSA and slammed the agency for poor oversight. At the time, the report found that most elevators were not in compliance with safety laws and that the situation was getting worse.

In 2018, just over 80 per cent of elevators failed their TSSA inspections - and that failure rate has remained the same every year since.

According to TSSA spokesperson Alexandra Campbell, a failed inspection isn't necessarily a serious offence. A non-compliant inspection means that an elevator could have just one infraction that's considered low-risk, such as a signature missing in a maintenance log book.

The TSSA also points out that non-permanent injuries have declined by almost half from 2013 to 2022. However more minor incidents - such as tripping because the elevator isn't levelling properly with the building floor or doors closing on people - have risen by 40 per cent during the same time.

There are many mechanisms in place to make sure people feel safe and comfortable," Campbell said. Very few elevators pose a serious safety risk and the TSSA does routine inspections on many devices."

Worsening elevator safety'

A key finding from the auditor general report revealed that elevator companies are the primary cause for worsening elevator safety" and for years they have not maintained most of Ontario's operating elevators in accordance with safety laws." In many cases, the companies maintain and install the devices, the report said.

In Ontario, four major international elevator companies maintain more than half of the market. ThyssenKrupp maintains around 25 per cent of the elevators, Otis and Kone each maintain 11 per cent, and Schindler maintains 7.5 per cent, according to the TSSA.

To win market share, these companies offer services at reduced rates, which in turn creates incentives for them to minimize time and effort dedicated to maintaining or fixing elevators," the report said.

In addition, condo owners find it too costly to take legal action against large maintenance companies that don't fix elevators in a timely manner. They also find it difficult to switch to different maintenance companies due to ironclad contracts" and elevator systems that require the use of proprietary technology.

The big four elevator companies are responsible for 90 per cent of elevator construction and do the bulk of the installation in condo buildings, said Rob Isabelle, chief operating officer of KJA Consultants, an engineering firm specializing in elevator design and maintenance management.

Typically, condos must sign long-term contracts with the installation company to maintain elevators, as the equipment is highly sophisticated." After 10 years, the building owners can then hire an independent contractor to service the elevators.

The building's owners typically stay with the initial construction company because it takes time for third-party vendors to provide the parts to independent contractors," Isabelle said. That's why after 10 years you can make the switch outside of the construction company."

The lifespan of an elevator is around 20 to 25 years, meaning buildings are often stuck with the elevator construction company to maintain the elevator for half its lifespan.

The four major international players play into proprietary components, meaning only the company makes that part, which in turns means only they can service it, limiting competition," said Phil Staite, president of the Canadian Elevator Contractors Association.

Because of this, it can take months for elevators to be fixed if certain parts are manufactured overseas, he said.

Elspeth Chalmers (Isabel Chalmers' sister) was a member of her condo board for a year during the pandemic and saw firsthand how one of the major elevator companies responded to maintenance issues in her building.

Her building has two elevators and either one can be out of service every other day.

They never came with any of the necessary parts to address the issue, and when they needed a certain part it would take weeks for it to come," she said. One time it took up to two months."

On average it would take the company five business days to respond to the building management's service calls, she said. Switching to another maintenance company wasn't possible, because the building was in a long-term contract with the company.

But even so, we weren't confident we could get better service with a different company because so many of our residents said they had horrible experiences with their elevators at previous condos," she said.

While some elevator parts might be difficult to acquire, around 85 per cent of the parts needed on a day-to-day basis are readily available in U.S. warehouses, Isabelle said. The remaining 15 per cent is harder to supply due to their advanced technology, he added.

The Star reached out to the four elevator companies to find out how many elevators they service a year, what their standard response time is, and how many parts need to be shipped from overseas.

For competitive reasons, we do not disclose a majority of the information requested. That said, globally, Otis maintains approximately 2.2 million customer units, which is the industry's largest service portfolio," Otis said in an email statement, adding elevator services are designed to deliver maximum uptime, and safe, comfortable rides."

Sasha Bailey, spokesperson for ThyssenKrupp Elevator, said its goal is to provide excellent service to all our customers" and that all emergency calls are prioritized.

In fact, we offer the largest provider network in Ontario. Most of our replacement parts are available within Canada and North America and we maintain a substantial inventory of parts in our distribution centre in Toronto," she said in a statement.

Kone and Schindler did not respond to the Star.

Backlog of upgrades

There are other reasons why fixing elevators takes so long, in addition to the delays in procuring parts from the four major companies, experts say.

We're running into a similar labour shortage to the one we experienced back in 2019," said KJA Consultants's Isabelle, adding that it's especially difficult to find enough workers for downtown Toronto, as many elevator mechanics prefer to live outside the city where it's more affordable.

Often, elevator companies assign one mechanic to 30 residential buildings. Whereas for commercial real estate, one mechanic is assigned to two or three buildings, said Murray Johnson, director of the Canadian Condominium Institute, a non-profit organization dealing exclusively with condominium issues.

If an elevator stops working in a commercial building, there are significant economic repercussions, as workers can't get to their offices and access to retail is hindered, he said.

Commercial landlords just pay extra for tech maintenance and pass along those fees to their tenants," Johnson said. If condos were to run like a commercial enterprise, you wouldn't be able to afford to live in one."

Many elevators in the city are also old and haven't been upgraded. If an elevator has been in use for 40 years, some parts are no longer available, said the Canadian Elevator Contractors Association's Staite.

Elevator modernization can now take up to 12 weeks," he said. If the parts aren't available, contractors tell building owners what they need to be doing to upgrade the system. But it's up to the condo owners to proceed with the work."

During the pandemic, upgrading the electrical and mechanical parts, as well as the controller (the brains of the machine) to new technology, which is smarter" and more reliable," was put on the back burner, creating a backlog of upgrades, Staite added.

At the mercy of the market

Two years after the 2018 auditor general report, Lysyk followed up with the TSSA for a progress report and found 18 out of 25 recommendations had been fully implemented.

In 2022, the TSSA did not report the inspection compliance rate for each elevator company in Ontario - a report which still needs to be made, she told the Star. But overall, the TSSA has a high implementation rate" and is ensuring elevators are being maintained within the regulatory framework, she said.

Going forward, the TSSA will be grouping inspection orders into three categories: low risk, medium risk and high risk, and each category will have a set time frame in which to be addressed.

Some high-risk orders, such as elevator doors closing too quickly and exerting too much force, will result in the immediate shutdown of the elevator until the issue is fixed. Low-risk infractions, such as a signature missing from a log book, will be reviewed at the next periodic inspection, the TSSA's Campbell said.

This would be more similar to the Toronto restaurant inspections, where there is a red (restaurant ordered to close until issues are rectified), yellow, requiring time to comply with order and a followup by the health inspector, or green - a pass that may still list some findings," she said.

It's important to note that the TSSA identified just eight high-risk elevators in Ontario in 2022, Campbell added.

But other industry experts say not much has changed" since the report for repair times, as the four main companies still have a stronghold on the market, and the pandemic created a backlog of elevator fixes, supply chain issues and labour shortages.

If you're living on one of the top floors of a condo building, you're not seeing any difference," Johnson said. If an elevator has been down for three weeks, I get the frustration. But we're at the mercy of the (elevator) market."

A possible way forward

In 2007, the European Commission fined Otis, Kone, Schindler and ThyssenKrupp 992 million euros for operating cartels for the installation and maintenance of lifts and escalators" and upholding restrictive business practices in select countries.

Larger fines here in Ontario could create better checks and balances on the elevator companies, experts say. The 2018 auditor general's report noted that Ontario's Ministry of Government and Consumer Services - now known as the Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery - is responsible for overseeing the TSSA and gave the agency additional powers to to issue fines, but details on the size of the fines were not released at the time.

On July 1, 2022, the government approved changes that allow the TSSA to issue fines to contractors and licence holders for non-compliance with safety laws, but the fines only range as high as $5,000, depending on the issue.

Furthermore, the TSSA has yet to issue a single penalty, Campbell said. That's because more data needs to be collected on elevator maintenance, which she says is underway.

Last summer, the TSSA launched an online tool that allows condo owners to report when an elevator has been out of service for 48 hours or more. So far, almost 300 elevator incidents have been reported, with one elevator reported to be out of service for more than three months.

The TSSA plans to implement monetary penalties in the future for lack of maintenance on an elevator, which is a contributing cause to elevator outages and delays," Campbell said.

For Chalmers, being stuck in an elevator for an hour is an experience she can't shake off.

For a period of time, she had to attend exposure therapy, where she was shown photos of elevators to become less fearful.

I work at a building on Bay and Bloor, and to this day I have to get someone from work to come down and ride it with me. I know it might seem ridiculous, but it's really triggered something in me and has completely changed aspects of my life."

Clarrie Feinstein is a Toronto-based business reporter for the Star. Reach Clarrie via email: clarriefeinstein@torstar.ca