D.C. buildings would have to keep all elevators working

Building owners would have to keep all installed elevators working. The requirement would cover all elevators installed in D.C. buildings. An elevator could stop operating if the Department of Buildings issued a permit to remove it from service or temporarily leave it unused. Working elevators would have to serve every floor they were designed or required to serve and answer calls within a reasonable time. The requirements would take effect after mayoral approval or a veto override, a 30-day congressional review period, and publication in the D.C. Register.

The Department of Buildings could use its Nuisance Abatement Fund to address covered elevator outages. A building would qualify when it had no working elevator and one or more elevators had been out for longer than 14 consecutive calendar days. The funding authority would allow repairs; it would not guarantee that the department would make them. This authority would take effect after mayoral approval or a veto override, a 30-day congressional review period, and publication in the D.C. Register.