A sign goes up in the lobby. The elevator is out of service. In a newer building that might mean two days. In an older one, during a modernization, it can mean weeks.

For most residents that is an inconvenience. For somebody on the fifth floor who cannot manage stairs, it is the difference between a normal life and not leaving the apartment at all. Here is how to handle it, including the two practical problems that catch families out and that nobody warns them about.

First, get real answers from management

Do this in writing, by email, so there is a record. Four questions.

• What is the expected restoration date, and what happens if it slips? Ask for a date rather than soon. Parts for older elevators can take weeks.
• Is there a second elevator or a service car? Many buildings have one that residents are not normally sent to, and it is often available on request.
• What arrangements are being made for residents who cannot use the stairs? Ask plainly. Some buildings will organize something; almost none will offer unprompted.
• Which stairwell should be used, and does it need a fob? More on this below, because it matters more than it sounds.

A resident with a disability may be entitled to a reasonable accommodation from a landlord or association. That is a fair housing question rather than something we can advise on, but it is worth knowing the phrase exists. A disability rights organization, a legal aid office, or your Council on Aging can point you to somebody who does this properly.

The certificate of insurance problem

This is the one that derails bookings, and it derails them on the morning rather than in advance.

Most managed buildings and condominium associations require any vendor working in the building to produce a certificate of insurance, often naming the association as an additional insured, before they are allowed past the lobby. It is entirely reasonable. It is also a piece of paper that takes a day or two to produce, and families find out about it at eight in the morning when a desk attendant will not let a crew upstairs.

So ask two things in the same breath. Ask the building what they require from a vendor, and ask the provider whether they can produce it and how quickly. Then get it sent before the day. We carry insurance and we will send a certificate to a management company on request; tell us at the booking rather than at the door.

The fire stair nobody thinks about

In a lot of buildings the only continuous stairwell from top to bottom is the fire stair. That is what it is designed for, and it is usually the right route for a stair chair because it runs straight through without dumping you into a corridor on every floor.

The catch is that fire stair doors very often lock behind you. You can leave a floor and get into the stairwell; you cannot always get back onto that floor without a fob or a key, and in some buildings the only door that opens from the inside is the one at the bottom.

That is a manageable detail if somebody has thought about it beforehand and a genuine problem if nobody has. Before any visit, find out whether the stairwell doors are locked, who holds a fob, and whether somebody will be posted at the apartment door. Ask the desk, not a neighbor.

The other things worth checking in a building

• Which floor, and is there a half landing? Six full flights is a different job from three.
• How wide is the stairwell, and does it turn tightly? Older buildings can be surprisingly narrow once a handrail is in the way.
• Is there a loading entrance, and does the building restrict the hours it can be used? Some associations limit anything resembling a move to weekday business hours.
• Where can a vehicle actually stop? In a city building this is often the single hardest part of the visit.
• Does the desk need names in advance? Many buildings will not admit anybody who is not on a list.

Getting through a long outage

If the elevator is going to be out for weeks rather than days, stair visits for every errand is not a sensible plan. It is expensive and it is a lot of transfers for one person to go through.

What families actually do, and what works:

• Bring everything upstairs instead. Groceries delivered, prescriptions delivered, a hairdresser who does home visits, and an aide for the hours that matter. At $45 an hour with no minimum contract, a daily morning visit is $315 a week and removes most of the need to go anywhere.
• Reserve the stair visits for the appointments that genuinely cannot move. Ask every other clinic whether the visit can be done by telephone or at home; more can than people expect.
• Consider staying elsewhere for the duration if there is family with a ground floor spare room. Unglamorous and often the right answer.
• Tell the Council on Aging the elevator is out. They may have meal delivery, a friendly visitor program or transport that helps, and they will know if other residents in the building are in the same position.

What a visit costs

Stair assistance is $200 a visit , two trained staff and a motorized stair chair. Getting somebody down for an appointment and back up afterwards is two visits, so plan the day as a round trip rather than a one way. Wheelchair transport is $115 each way, or $230 round trip, within five miles and then $2 a mile.

Tell us the floor, the stairwell situation and what the building requires from a vendor when you book, and none of it becomes a problem on the day. Here is how weight and the staircase together decide whether a job is possible, and here is what changes if it is a power chair.

Where to go from here

Book stair assistance here, or call and describe the building. If the wider problem is that somebody is now stuck upstairs for a month, tell us what the week looks like and we will price the version where help comes to them instead.

Care Remedy Inc, 100 TradeCenter Suite G-700, Woburn, MA 01801. Call 781-957-8076 . Home health aide care, wheelchair transportation and stair assistance across Greater Boston, with offices in Woburn, Brockton and Springfield.

Our rates are current as of publication. Building requirements, insurance documentation and stairwell access differ from building to building, so confirm with your own management. Fair housing and reasonable accommodation questions are legal matters; this article is general information and is not legal or medical advice. In an emergency, call 911.