Residents of an east end Ottawa Community Housing (OCH) apartment building woke up Saturday morning to what they said is an unwelcome, but familiar surprise: both elevators in the building were out of service.

Now, residents with mobility issues who live at 2080 Russell Rd. said they are trapped in their units, unable to manage the flights of stairs.

Their community housing building rises six stories at one end, and five at the other. The single elevator servicing all six floors has been broken for two months, and the second elevator, which services five floors, broke around 6 a.m. Saturday, residents told CBC News.

"I can't do my daily things, I can't go out. It confines me to my home," Simone Cyr said.

Cyr struggles with health issues that affect her breathing, and when she tried to take the stairs to her third floor apartment today she said she nearly had to call an ambulance.

Yet, she and others said her struggles pale in comparison to one of her neighbours in the floors above.

The neighbour, only referred to as Andy by multiple residents who spoke to CBC, is in his 70s and relies on a motorized scooter to get around. He had to abandon it on the ground floor Saturday, they said, and walk up to his sixth floor apartment.

The last time the elevator broke, he left the scooter outside in the stairwell and someone stole the battery.

'They don't seem to care'

Residents said the elevators break constantly, often both at the same time in the building which houses 126 units. They estimate in the last six months, the elevators have been out of order concurrently about five times.

"I can't go [out] if I haven't got an elevator," said Joy Davis, who has had to rely on her neighbour to get her groceries and empty her trash, as she can't move without her walker or cane.

Joy Davis said she has to rely on a neighbour to run her errands when the elevator is out since she can't handle four flights of stairs. (Elise von Scheel/CBC)

When she called the property manager, she said she was told they would try to get it fixed quickly, but with no promises.

"They don't seem to care about the people in the building," Davis said. "How are people in wheelchairs going to get up?"

One of her fourth floor neighbours had that problem Saturday morning, when she came home to find she couldn't get her wheelchair back up to her apartment.

Proposed bill takes aim at broken elevators

Residents may be angry, but leaving the elevators out of service for too long could soon be illegal.

Last spring, a Toronto MPP introduced a private members bill, the Reliable Elevators Act, which would force buildings to repair broken elevators within two weeks — not the two-month wait residents of 2080 Russell Rd. are currently enduring.

This notice, posted near the elevator, went up long after the elevator broke, residents said. (Elise von Scheel/CBC)

If the bill is passed, contractors who fail to repair the elevators could be fined or black-listed.

But until the facilities are repaired, Cyr, Davis and their neighbours are stuck in their homes.

"Everybody forgets about the poor people," Cyr said in tears.