BOCA RATON, Fla. — A 99-year-old Florida woman who spent weeks largely unable to leave her fourth-floor condo because of a broken elevator is now at the center of a push to close what one state lawmaker calls a “problem statewide.”
Norma Schweitzer, who uses a wheelchair, lives at Century Village Boca Raton. Her building’s elevator was out of service for about three weeks while a replacement part was obtained and installed, according to WPTV’s original investigation.
The elevator was eventually repaired, but Schweitzer’s family learned the building was also preparing for a separate, much longer outage as the elevator undergoes a full replacement.
Now, State Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, R-Boca Raton, says Schweitzer’s situation exposed a gap in Florida law that she wants lawmakers to address.
“You can let it languish there and keep people not able to leave their units — their home — and that has been the problem statewide,” Gossett-Seidman told WPTV in a follow-up report published Monday.
‘Your Life Stops’
For Schweitzer, the elevator outage wasn’t simply an inconvenience.
When WPTV asked her what spending weeks effectively stuck upstairs felt like, she gave a one-word answer: “Murder!”
Her son, Neal Schweitzer, said the outage cut his mother off from ordinary parts of her life, including visiting friends, going to the pool, attending medical appointments and getting her nails done.
“Your life stops,” he told WPTV.
Norma Schweitzer told the station she cannot walk or put weight on her foot. Her family said they eventually had to rely on firefighters to help get her downstairs for a medical appointment, a process she said left bruises beneath her arms.
Her family also said building management told them that navigating the outage was their responsibility.
The Century Village board told WPTV that it understood the hardship caused by the outage and said the association contacted its elevator contractor when the equipment first went out of service. According to the board, the repair required a replacement valve, a permit, installation and final inspection. A separate mechanical problem later developed in the aging system.
The board said it would continue working with the elevator company and updating residents, but it does not provide temporary housing or delivery accommodations during an elevator outage.
Florida Requires Elevator Inspections — But What About Repairs?
Schweitzer’s case led Gossett-Seidman to examine Florida’s elevator laws.
Florida’s Elevator Safety Act generally requires elevators covered by the law to undergo annual inspections. State law also provides enforcement mechanisms when safety deficiencies are identified.
But Gossett-Seidman says the statutes do not provide the kind of clear, prompt repair deadline she believes residents need when an elevator is taken out of service.
“So, I started doing a deep dive and it turns out our state statutes do not really fully cover this issue,” she told WPTV.
That distinction matters in a state filled with high-rise and multi-story communities where many residents are older or have mobility limitations.
Florida condominium law already places responsibility for maintaining, repairing and replacing common condominium property on associations when that property falls within their responsibility. The 2026 Florida Statutes spell out that broader maintenance obligation.
The issue Gossett-Seidman wants to address is more specific: how quickly an elevator that residents depend on must actually be restored to service.
Lawmaker Wants Elevator Repairs Added to Florida Building-Safety Rules
Gossett-Seidman said she plans to pursue legislation that would use Florida’s post-Surfside building-safety framework as a model.
Florida strengthened condominium inspection and repair requirements following the 2021 collapse of Champlain Towers South in Surfside, which killed 98 people.
The state’s current milestone inspection law requires certain older condominium and cooperative buildings to undergo structural inspections and provides timelines related to repairing substantial structural deterioration.
Gossett-Seidman told WPTV she wants to expand that kind of accountability to elevator repairs.
The proposal could immediately resonate across Florida, where elevator outages can become much more serious for residents who cannot safely use stairs.
Disability Rights Florida attorney Leigh Markowitz told WPTV that the organization has received numerous calls about elevator outages affecting residents in South Florida. She said people with disabilities may also be able to request reasonable accommodations from their housing provider, depending on the circumstances.
Possible accommodations, she said, could include temporary lodging, delivery assistance or other measures while elevator access is unavailable.
‘What’s the Cost to Not Being Able to Leave Your Condo?’
Any new repair mandate could raise questions about costs for Florida condo associations already facing expensive inspections, repairs and reserve requirements.
Gossett-Seidman, however, said the cost argument needs to be weighed against what happens to residents who suddenly cannot leave home.
“What’s the cost to not being able to leave your condo?” she asked.
For Schweitzer’s family, the immediate concern remains much more personal.
Although the initial weeks-long outage was repaired, the family was told another elevator shutdown lasting roughly six weeks was expected for the full replacement project. They told WPTV they wanted clearer communication and a workable plan for keeping Norma mobile while the elevator is unavailable.
Gossett-Seidman says she intends to bring the elevator issue before lawmakers during Florida’s next legislative session.
For thousands of Floridians who live several floors above the ground and cannot simply take the stairs, Schweitzer’s three weeks upstairs have turned a broken elevator into a much larger question: How long should Florida law allow essential access to remain broken before someone is required to fix it?
