“This is slowly killing us. No one does anything, everyone ignores the situation”. This is how Vera raises alarm about being without an elevator for two months in a building managed by Gebalis, the public company responsible for managing municipal housing properties in Lisbon.
After multiple complaints to the company without resolution or response, Vera wrote about the situation on the Portal da Queixa.
In her building, located in Ameixoeira, “most residents are elderly and have health problems.” Two residents even rely on “oxygen machines” while another has undergone “heart surgery.” However, even this hasn’t prompted Gebalis to send the company responsible for elevator maintenance.
Vera is not alone in experiencing elevator issues in buildings managed by Gebalis. A brief search on Portal da Queixa reveals this is a common complaint in several districts of the capital. In September, Carlos, living in Alta de Lisboa, confirmed that he has been without an elevator “for a year”.
“We call Gebalis, and they say they will fix it, but it’s a lie”, he says, highlighting that his building has “bedridden people who need medical treatments and cannot leave home,” as well as people in wheelchairs who cannot use the stairs.
In the same area, but on another street, Fernando, who uses a wheelchair, reported at the end of August that the elevator in his building “has been out of service for a month”, worsening his health condition as it forced him to miss “several” physiotherapy sessions.
From the Elevator Saga to Broken Doors (Open to the Homeless)
Joana, a fictional name, told Notícias ao Minuto that she has also been without an elevator for two months, in a property located in the Olivais parish, where several elderly people, children, and even someone who uses a wheelchair live. Although she is not a Gebalis tenant, she lives in a building where the municipal company owns a considerable number of apartments and is responsible for its maintenance.
Besides the numerous emails — which Notícias ao Minuto had access to — Joana has called Gebalis countless times. The response is always the same: the issue is “under review.”
Joana is “fed up” with the issues related to the municipal company. Since 2021, she has complained and ‘wasted time’ trying to resolve issues that are the responsibility of Gebalis, which “to date, has not wanted to form a condominium, yet does not ensure minimum safety conditions” for the building’s residents.
The elevator is not the only issue in the building. The front door has “once again” a “lock malfunction”, something that appears to be a common issue in other municipal housing.
The businesswoman claims this is even a recurring situation that “compromises the safety of the building and its inhabitants.”
Joana has the evidence. This is already the fourth time she has reported — in different years — such occurrences to Gebalis, and in 2022, the malfunction even allowed a homeless person to spend the night on the floor -3 of the building, leaving “his needs” there.
“It was an unbearable odor. An unbearable situation, due to lack of safety and hygiene. It became a public health issue. And as Gebalis did not resolve it, we had to call the police,” she revealed, showing photos from that time, depicting a person sleeping on the floor, surrounded by trash.
In light of all these cases, Joana asks: “What are they waiting for to resolve these situations? These elevator problems, for instance? Do they want a repeat of what happened the other day?”.
Seriously Injured After Falling in Elevator Shaft
The businesswoman refers to an accident that occurred on September 11, in São Domingos de Benfica, in a municipal building managed by Gebalis, which left a 38-year-old man in critical condition.
According to a source from the Public Security Police (PSP) at the time, the victim was on the seventh floor of the building when he called the elevator.
The door opened, and the man entered without realizing that the elevator car had not arrived at the respective floor. Only the intervention of the neighbors, who heard the victim’s screams, prevented an even greater tragedy: that the elevator car fell on him.
Notícias ao Minuto attempted to ascertain the man’s health status, a week after the incident, but was unable to obtain information.
At the time of the accident, Gebalis assured that the case was under investigation and that the elevator had been “subject to mandatory maintenance and inspections.”
Elderly ‘Hostages’ of Gebalis Inaction
On the day before the accident in São Domingos de Benfica, the site AbrilAbril reported that the four elevators serving buildings 554, 555, and 556 in Bairro do Condado, Marvila, Lisbon, had been “out of service for more than three months, tormenting the lives of the residents.”
The complaint came from the Residents and Users Committee of Marvila, which highlighted to the newspaper the situation of two neighbors on the 7th floor, one aged 94 and the other 75 (who “requires oxygen support and has severe health limitations”), unable to leave their homes without third-party support.
But it is not an isolated case. For years, Gebalis has been accused of inaction in responding to constant elevator problems in municipal buildings.
In May, Correio da Manhã reported issues in Alta de Lisboa, and in 2024, SIC Notícias covered a story of a man who, having lost both legs, had not left home for two months and missed medical appointments and physiotherapy due to a malfunction of the building’s elevators.
Orona No Longer Has a Contract with Gebalis
Notícias ao Minuto understands that at least one of the companies doing elevator maintenance for Gebalis, Orona, has not had a contract with the municipal company since the beginning of September.
Notícias ao Minuto contacted the office of councilwoman Filipa Roseta, responsible for Housing and Municipal Works, who referred inquiries to Gebalis.
Gebalis Blames “Vandalism” and “Years of Insufficient Maintenance”
In response to Notícias ao Minuto, Gebalis attributes the elevator maintenance problems to “years of insufficient maintenance” and “repeated vandalism of the elevators.”
According to the municipal company, efforts are being made “to resolve elevator malfunctions and modernize them.”
Gebalis assures that it “recognizes the urgency of the issue” and that it is “making the greatest efforts to resolve these situations swiftly”. However, it highlights that it faces a “challenging context.”
“Years of insufficient maintenance or failure to replace obsolete equipment, a legacy that Gebalis has been trying to reverse with a continuous and planned effort. This situation has led to the urgent need to repair multiple pieces of equipment, instead of normal and planned maintenance,” the municipal company explains, adding that it has “significantly” increased investment in this area.
“If from 2018 to 2021, 6.8 million euros were invested in these pieces of equipment, from 2022 to 2025, the investment will reach at least 13.5 million euros. This represents an increase of nearly 100% and demonstrates unprecedented investment in the modernization and repair of municipal elevators,” it reveals.
However, repairing malfunctioning equipment, especially in public infrastructures, requires, as the company mentioned, “a rigorous administrative process, stemming from the public procurement mechanisms to which Gebalis is legally bound,” which may not “always provide responses within the ideal timeframes we all would desire.”
“Added to this issue, in too many cases, is the repeated vandalism of the elevators, causing significant damage and service interruptions in various neighborhoods, undermining their daily use,” the company determines.
In response, Gebalis has outlined a “strategy” based on “three fundamental pillars”: “structured maintenance, planned repair, and accelerated modernization.”
“The primary goal is to ensure greater reliability, reduce the number of malfunctions, and consequently improve the quality of service provided to the population,” the company assures Notícias ao Minuto, something not yet reflected in the opinion of many municipal building residents.
Leia Também: Empresa municipal Gebalis assegura apurar queda em elevador em Lisboa
