Residents of SkyHouse Austin, a 22-story high-rise on Rainey Street, said months of elevator outages have turned getting home into a daily ordeal, with wait times stretching to 20 minutes and some tenants forced to climb stairs despite injuries, breathing issues, or disabilities.
For one resident, the disruptions became so severe that he left his apartment and began staying with a friend.
Here's what to know
According to CBS Austin, tenants at SkyHouse Austin on Rainey Street said the building operated with only one elevator for months after two of its three went out of service. They said that the remaining elevator later failed too, intensifying concerns about access, safety, and whether it was practical to stay in their homes.
Repeated trips up the stairs are especially difficult for Major Oswald, who lives on the 22nd floor and said he has a sprained ankle and breathing problems. He said the situation became intolerable. "I see people moving in, and like, I just want to tell them to run away," Oswald said.
Tenants said the outages became a regular obstacle rather than an occasional inconvenience. SkyHouse resident Aditya Tumuluri said, "We're dependent on our elevators," while resident Thomas Hughes said older neighbors on upper floors may have no realistic alternative when the elevators stop running.
SkyHouse later said an August kitchen fire knocked out two elevators and that a separate service issue affected the third. In a Sept. 24 email, management said it had ordered replacement parts that might take six to eight weeks to arrive.
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More background
Residents said that, in practice, getting back to their units could mean waiting up to 20 minutes for the only working elevator or taking the stairs, a particularly serious problem in a building where many tenants live far above street level.
Rachel Cohen-Miller, supervising attorney with Disability Rights Texas, said persistent elevator problems are far from unusual. "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.
The breakdowns fit into a broader housing pattern in which landlord-controlled conditions can sharply affect renters' quality of life and daily choices.
After calling with concerns, resident Raja Sampathi said he made stickers for neighbors near the elevator that read: "This too shall pass, Sky House."
What can be done?
Leah Downey-Gallatin, special project director with the Austin Tenants Council, told CBS Austin that tenants dealing with this kind of problem should keep records of everything.
"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.
Downey-Gallatin also said Texas renters may have legal options when a condition affects health or safety.
"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. Under certain circumstances, she added, renters may be able to end a lease without penalty, according to CBS Austin.
Residents with disabilities may have another option: requesting an accommodation in writing. Cohen-Miller said disability accommodations can involve pushing for repairs or leaving 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."
Where can I learn more?
Tenant protections have been put to the test beyond Austin.
• In Houston, officials moved to require working AC in rentals after loopholes left tenants sweltering.
• During a brutal Texas heat wave, one renter endured unlivable conditions without AC and feared for their survival.
• In Arizona, lawmakers proposed protections for dangerous indoor temperatures after renters faced extreme heat.
• After a safety complaint, a landlord answered with a massive rent increase, a tenant said.
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