I suspect the landlord won't win this one, as landlords are required by the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 to provide premises that are “fit to live in” and nor may a landlord withdraw utilities or “other services” except to avoid danger. A flat on a high floor, or even a low floor depending on age/health of tenant, may be seen as “unfit to live in” and certainly subject to a “withdrawal of services.” high floor flat all of a sudden without a lift may be seen as “unfit to live in” and a withdrawal of services, even if this is not the fault of the landlord. The tenant is likely able to terminate the tenancy for breach of the agreement, or to request a rent reduction for excessive rent (without a lift) – even if lift maintenance is unexpected and to avoid danger (a permitted withdrawal of services) the landlord is still not providing premises fit to live in, and still charging excessive rent in the circumstances. Unfortunately this is not the tenant's problem. The o/c is required to keep the lifts in good repair – if not responsible for loss of rent, presumably they wouldn't want to be responsible for loss of life (and a massive amount of compensation/insurance claims that have bankrupted o/c's in the past)… Perhaps unwanted advice to a landlord, but their best approach may be to accept that loss of rent is going to happen whether they like it or not – try to keep the tenant with less rent so they stay for the duration – rather than leaving, and finding that a new tenant cannot be found due to no lift. Maybe landlords insurance for the future is worth considering?