But for the residents of the 160-storey Burj Khalifa in Dubai that has become a very real possibility.
They have been threatened with having to haul themselves up as many as 2,900 stairs after the developers warned it might cut off the lifts in a dispute over unpaid fees.
On Sunday, it carried out its pledge to prevent tenants whose properties were in arrears from accessing communal areas such as the garage, gym, pool and tennis courts.
It has not yet unplugged the air conditioning or the elevators, but has threatened to do so, according to CNN.
A spokesman for Emaar said: ‘A circular has been issued to remind and urge residents to pay the service charges to ensure the seamless management of the common areas and other community amenities.
‘It was sent after repeated reminders to pay the pending service charges and following multiple attempts to get the attention of the defaulting home-owners.’
The Burj Khalifa contains nearly 1,000 apartments from floors 12 to 108.
The building has a total of 2,909 stairs, meaning those on the upper floors would have to climb the bulk of those just to get home if the lifts were out of action.
One-bedroom flats fetch around $55,000 (£33,000) in rent a year, while service charges can add a further $25,000 (£15,000) to the total.
Service charges are a divisive issue in Dubai because many tenants are trapped at the centre of rows their landlords and developers.
- Daily Mail
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