Greyville flats flood as roof-maintenance battle continues
Flat maintenance has been an ongoing struggle for residents of Kirkwood Gardens.
WATER gushed into flat units at Kirkwood Gardens during the heavy rains over the weekend. This after residents long advocated for their leaking roofs to be fixed.
The Greyville residential complex houses 72 units in several buildings managed by the Department of Human Settlements. For complex chairperson Teresa Moriarty, maintenance concerns have mounted for years. In February, residents raised eyebrows when rotting window frames were painted over while their biggest gripe – the roof waterproofing – was ignored.
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Moriarty says residents are worried their homes will not withstand another bout of heavy rains.
“Water poured into our flats – this is the worst we have ever experienced. Waterproofing the roof and (face-brick) walls has been the biggest concern we have raised with the housing department – without it we won’t have flats – the roofs will cave in. There’s only so much the bricks can take,” she said.
“Water doesn’t even run down the walls; it sinks into the cement. The water is getting into electrical fittings, as well,” added concerned resident Glenda Rose.
ALSO READ: ‘Our homes are falling apart,’ say Greyville residents
Moriarty said each block in the complex is represented by a committee member, and the same issues have been reported across the board: waterproofing issues, cracking concrete in the stairwells and rotting window frames.
The eThekwini Municipality was not available for comment at the time this article was published.
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