Tenants of Sudbury residential complex waiting 8 months for elevator to be repaired

Residents at 285 Lourdes Street in Sudbury, many elderly or with mobility issues, struggle with stairs as elevator repairs drag on. Angela Gemmill reports.

Tenants at 285 Lourdes Street in Greater Sudbury are fed up with how long it’s taken to fix their broken elevator.

For the past eight months they’ve had to climb the stairs up and down if they want to leave their apartments in the five-story complex. Many of the residents are elderly or have either health or mobility issues so taking the stairs each time is exhausting.

“When I get home, I put my parcels – I just drop them on the floor and I go lay down on my couch for a few minutes to get my energy back,” said Linda Pharand, who lives on the fourth floor.

Victor Pegg must undergo dialysis three times a week.

“I come down around six in the morning; I’m there four hours before I come home and then I’ve got to get back up them frigging stairs. My knees are going, my ankles are going,” he said.

The elevator stopped working in November 2024.

The tenants say they’ve been told different timelines by the property management company about when the elevator will be fixed.

“We understand that can take some time, however we’re coming on nine months. It’s getting to the point where we’re suffering now,” said Andrea Gustafson, who lives on the fifth floor.

She calls the situation “dehumanizing” for all the tenants.

“I feel like the property management company should be updating us and should be trying their best to accommodate us like they promised they would,” Gustafson said.

“We’re disabled and we’re trying to do these stairs. We’ve injuring ourselves on these stairs and we’re telling Luxor Property Management, but unfortunately, it’s falling on deaf ears.”

The building is owned by Centreville Non-Profit Housing but run by Luxor Property Management.

In an email, the property manager told CTV News they’re waiting for a part and that repairs should be completed next week, adding that just one company is licensed to work on this elevator.

No one from the board of directors with the non-profit was available for comment.

The City of Greater Sudbury’s Bylaw Services is aware of the situation.

The Ontario Residential Tenancies Act does not give a specific timeframe for when a landlord must complete repairs. It only says they must handle them “within a reasonable amount of time.”

If a tenant feels their requests are being ignored, they can file a complaint with the Landlord and Tenant Board.

The Landlord and Tenant Board confirms there are no applications open for 285 Lourdes St.

“The LTB confirms that all files for 285 Lourdes St., Sudbury, are closed and none referred to the related matter,” the board said in a statement.

Justyne Albert and Michael Larocque live on the second floor and admit they’re not struggling as much as others in the building are.

However, the couple lives right over the front entrance of the building and is frequently disrupted by people yelling up to other tenants.

“There’s been a lot of people always screaming out at 4, 6 in the morning and the middle of the night. There’s no security,” Laroque said.

“We feel like prisoners in our own home,” Albert added.