LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A broken elevator in an apartment building catering to senior citizens that prevented elderly residents from leaving their apartments is currently in working order, the 8 News Now Investigators have confirmed.

This stems from Wednesday’s 8 News Now Investigation into the building and its shuttered elevator, which tenants say often is out of service – most recently for at least a week.

However, despite the elevator’s sudden return to functionality, two elevators in the block of buildings comprising Los Pecos Senior Apartments near South Pecos and East Russell roads are without permits and failed an inspection in May, public records obtained by the 8 News Now Investigators reveal.

It was not immediately clear which buildings the elevators were in.

The two reports – from the Nevada Department of Business and Industry’s Mechanical Compliance System – show that both elevators are “deficient,” having each failed inspection for “restricted opening of car or hoist-way [sic] doors.” A hoistway is another word for an elevator shaft.

One of the elevators also failed because of an oil leak, for which the inspection report recommends removal of drywall and repair. The inspection reports both have the same date in May.

On Wednesday, in a return trip to the complex the 8 News Now Investigators originally visited after an email where a tenant called the building a death trap – a sentiment echoed in an official complaint lodged with the state – the elevator was working.

An elevator serviceman outside the building confirmed as much but told the 8 News Now Investigators he was not able to comment. That same serviceman was witnessed heading toward another building after that brief exchange.

The Americans with Disabilities Act allows for elevators to undergo “isolated or temporary interruptions,” but tenants say this is not the case at Los Pecos Senior Apartments.

A tenant who identified herself as Stella told the 8 News Now Investigators her eyesight has diminished to the point where she can’t see anything and needs help getting up and down the stairs. She says the management company does not provide her with any information or assistance.

“They don’t tell me anything that’s going on,” Stella said. “They’ll post notes on my door. I don’t, I can’t read them, you know. I don’t know what’s going on.”

A manager at the local office refused to speak with the 8 News Now Investigators on Wednesday, but provided a business card with the corporate name “GSL Properties.”

Attempts to reach the Oregon-based company on Wednesday were unsuccessful.

The company has a valid business license for the apartments, according to Clark County records.

County records also show no open building violations at the South Pecos address. A spokesman indicated that one person complained about the elevator on July 26, but the county referred the complaint to the state agency responsible for elevators and considers the matter closed.

The spokesman said the most recent notices Clark County received about the property was reported graffiti in 2020.