Disabled residents left in the lurch with no lift

UMBILO flat, Lantern Heath is among several ex-council buildings that have fallen into disrepair over recent years. With no funds to maintain and repair the broken lifts at the block, disabled residents are forced to use the stairs.

“There has been no lift here for six years. I can’t walk. Someone has to carry me down the stairs.”

These are the words of wheelchair-bound Dolly Naidoo, an elderly resident who lives on the fourth floor at Lantern Heath. Naidoo was among several residents who raised concerns about the maintenance of their block. Among their gripes were the broken lifts and irregular levy statements.

Another resident struggling to climb the stairs at the block was Leenesh Ghurbarun who suffers with a spinal condition.

“I suffer with Ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and I have a spine deformity, so it’s difficult for me to travel up and down the stairs. The lifts haven’t been working for more than six years, yet our levy payments are up to date,” he said.

Ghurbarun said the levy fee is just under R1000 per month.

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Levy payments

A trustee who wanted to remain anonymous, told the Berea Mail that there are more urgent maintenance issues to tackle before the lifts are repaired. They said levy payments are not up to date across the board, making effective levy collection the highest priority.

“There are a lot of levies outstanding where owners have not paid levies for a significant period of time. This has affected the cash flow of the body corporate. The fist initial problem is the failure to collect levies. The body corporate has a duty to repair and maintain the building. I’ve seen quotes of R700 000 per lift but that is probably not first in line to be addressed. There is a water and electricity bill of R200 000 outstanding. You’ve got to put priorities in place. The water and sewage system needs to be repaired. Pipes are old and degrading to point they are beginning to leak. It’s pointless having lifts if you don’t have electricity to run the lifts. The Durban Corporation is supplying electricity at the moment, but in terms of the bill in arrears, they might not continue to supply electricity,” they said.

Acutts Property Management were appointed as managing agents for Lantern Heath in October 2018 with a view to address long outstanding issues such as these, said Jon Acutt, Managing Director of Acutts Real Estate.

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“In Sectional Title law it is the responsibility of the trustees of the body corporate to make the day to day management decisions of the body corporate, and these decisions must be in line with the resolutions taken by owners at the Annual General Meeting, which is held each year. Our role as managing agents is to act as administrators and bookkeepers for the body corporate, and we too are bound by the resolutions taken by owners at each Annual General Meeting, as well as acting on instructions of the trustees. A new lift could cost in the region of R1 million, and at this time I do not believe that with the current economic environment the owners could afford a new lift. While our company would do anything to help the body corporate with their maintenance matters, we can only assist if they have budgeted and raised the necessary funds to undertake such projects. I work closely with all our body corporate clients to accurately predict and plan for future maintenance and upgrades to all the buildings we have under our management, however as with all things, we can only do as much as the available funds allow,” he said.