A residential building intended for socially vulnerable groups in Derzhavinsk, Akmola region, has been deemed uninhabitable due to numerous construction defects, reports Todayinfo.
The new five-story building in the Molodezhny microdistrict of Derzhavinsk was ceremoniously handed over. However, its residents are now expressing strong dissatisfaction. This house is the only one in the district center built specifically for socially vulnerable segments of the population.
Orphans, people with disabilities, families with special needs children, single-parent, and large families, who had been on waiting lists, moved in at the beginning of last year. Their lives had already been challenging.
Tayya Turtaeva had waited for her coveted apartment for ten years. Her joy knew no bounds when she finally received the keys in January. Even if it was small, a one-room corner unit – it was her own!
Problems immediately became apparent. The first was extreme cold. “It was only 12-13 degrees Celsius in my apartment. This winter it's a little warmer, but it's still very cold. Sometimes the heating disappears entirely. In February, for example, we were left without heat. As far as I know, the first and second floors are still tolerable, the third is empty, I live on the fourth – it's freezing, the fifth is also unoccupied,” the woman says.
Tayya and her daughter have been living in a rented apartment for two months now, forced to temporarily move out due to the cold and mold on the floor and walls. The developer is covering the rent until the “defects” are rectified.
According to the general opinion of the residents, the house was handed over unfinished, without a proper roof and wall cladding. This is the main problem, leading to water leaking directly into apartments on rainy days, causing dampness and mold.
Irina Lysenko also received an apartment in the ill-fated building under the “single-parent family” category. She lives on the fifth floor. “With the slightest, even short rain, water comes through the cracks into the apartment – I then have to collect it from under the linoleum. They skimped on everything – our radiators are not standard, there aren't enough sections. The developer promised to add more, but it remains just words, and there's only a year and a half left on the warranty period. We freeze during the cold seasons. With strong winds, everything on the roof rattles, it's barely holding together,” the woman sighs.
Meanwhile, mold is spreading wider in the apartments. Residents have to treat it with bleach every three to four days, but by the fourth day, green and black spots reappear. Residents are most worried about their children, as asthma can develop in a short time under such conditions.
People say that in response to complaints, the contractor sends workers who measure humidity, inspect the fungus-ridden ceilings and walls, and then offer to treat and plaster them. But this, according to residents, is a futile effort. External, capital work is needed – to complete the roof and clad the building.
“They came and plastered the walls, but not everywhere, only near the windows. There's no point to it, the mold reappeared after two weeks. They also installed vents, but they're useless too – just more cold,” Irina complains.
In the meantime, residents are filming shocking videos. In one, a multi-child mother, Evdokiya Zubareva, screams upon seeing a huge piece of plaster suddenly fall from the ceiling onto the sofa. In another, the owner demonstrates a “slurry” on the walls after the rain. In a third, a woman sees her neighbors on the floor below through a hole in the floor, where children are playing.
