‘Our homes are falling apart,’ say Greyville residents

RESIDENTS at Kirkwood Gardens in Greyville are at their wits end after trying to improve the maintenance and upkeep of their flats.

As low cost housing, residents say the complex is managed by the Department of Human Settlements. With 12 blocks of flats and 72 units in the complex, Kirkwood Gardens is home to more than 80 residents – many who are elderly, relying on government pensions.

Among their gripes are rotting window frames, plants growing in gutters and down pipes, spoiling concrete and a failing roof overlay.

Chairperson for the complex, and resident, Teresa Moriarty, said she had been calling the department for three months after several window panes fell out of their frames in her flat.

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“I reported my window panes falling out and four inspectors came out to take a look. The company didn’t had a ladder to fix the windows from outside. They wanted to do the job of replacing a pane and window putty on 10 that have no putty on them. It’s not an inside job even the inspectors said it can’t be done from inside. I opened the balcony door and another pane has fallen out,” she said.

Another resident, Glenda Rose, said the lack of maintenance has raised health concerns.

“My sister has emphysema and the damp affects her in her bedroom. If you look outside, there are plants growing on the walls. The walls are not sealed and the grouting in-between the bricks needs to be replaced. The damp is coming into the room, affecting her chest. The window frame is eventually going to fall out, because it is rotten. Water is leaking in through the kitchen roof, causing some of the cement to fall down and creating dampness which leads to paint peeling,” she said.

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What’s more, Moriarty said she planned to raise this problem along with other issues at a meeting with the department that was scheduled to take place on July 13.

“We waited for over half an hour and they never came through with the video call meeting,” she said.

Maintenance of the grounds (trimming of foliage) and illegal tenants were among the concerns to be raised at the meeting.

The Berea Mail reached out to the Department of Human Settlements and the eThekwini Municipality, but they did not send their comments at the time this article went to press.