Latest news with #unsafehousing
Sky News
a day ago
- General
- Sky News
'A catastrophic scandal': Inside the tower block so dangerous residents face being kicked out at any moment
The moment we step into Willow Rise, the smell of damp is overpowering. There are water stains across the carpet and rotten wood on the doors. Around the corner, there's a hole in the wall, barely patched up with a piece of polystyrene sheet. We're meeting a resident on the 13th floor of the building in Kirkby, Merseyside - but the lifts are broken and wires hang out of the service panel. Like everyone living here, we will have to walk. The disrepair in this block is everywhere you look. It has now been deemed so unsafe by Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service that they are days away from serving a rare prohibition notice on this tower and its neighbour, Beech Rise, meaning residents will have to leave with immediate effect. In total, 160 households here face instant homelessness. After climbing 13 flights of stairs, we meet Chris Penfold-Ivany. 'A catastrophic scandal' He has terminal cancer, and after chemotherapy and a liver transplant, that climb is now the only way he can get up to his flat. He tells us it's making him breathless. He can no longer get his prescriptions delivered, as the drivers won't come up all the stairs. "It's a catastrophic scandal that we have been left like this," he says. He has lived in this flat for 15 years and has watched the block slowly begin to fall apart over the last decade. He tells us that numerous complaints have achieved nothing. "I'm going to say it," he says, "this is another Grenfell in the making." 'Nobody can live like this ' A few floors down, Arunee Leerasiri opens the door to us, in floods of tears. The stress of the last few weeks has left her anxious and overwhelmed. There are boxes everywhere, bare hooks on the walls where pictures hung. She is packing up her life just three years after putting her life savings into buying this flat. Her elderly mother has come to visit, but she had to hire removal men already to take her mattress into storage as she couldn't manage without the lifts. Tonight, and until they are told they must leave, they will sleep on the floor. "I can't eat, I can't sleep," she tells us, through tears. "Sometimes, if I'm honest, I can't even think. This used to be my home, and now I look around and I don't even recognise it." "Nobody can live like this," she adds. 'Danger, 415 volts' She shows us a video she filmed just a few weeks ago, of one of the electrical risers on the ground floor. None of us can quite believe what we are seeing - water is pouring through the ceiling, directly on to fuse boxes and electrical wiring. Arunee takes us down to show us the cupboard. The water has now stopped but there are damp stains all over the floor and around the electrical equipment. The water pipes and electric boxes are just inches away from one another within the cupboard. One of the boxes, marked 'Danger, 415 volts', is rusted through. Next to it, there is a notice stuck to a resident's door telling them a leak has been identified in their flat - and as a leaseholder, they will be responsible for paying to fix it. "Tell me, how is this safe?" Arunee says. "Why is this building allowed to be open for the public, as a dwelling, with this kind of set-up?" Hidden owners and a plea to the government Merseyside Fire and Rescue tell us they have been serving enforcement notices on the building managers for years, to no avail. They have now been told there is no money for the millions of pounds worth of repairs that will be needed to bring the blocks up to a safe standard. They have mandated a 'waking watch', where teams physically patrol the buildings daily to check for fire risks, without which they will serve the prohibition notice and tell residents they must leave straight away. Knowsley Council has stepped in to pay for this temporarily - at a cost of £3,000 per day. Their deputy leader tells us, though, that the money will soon run out. Where to go? With a complex management structure and several owners, managers and agents over the years, the council says it doesn't even know who is to blame for the disrepair - or who even has the legal responsibility for maintaining the buildings. It says discussions are ongoing with central government about whether any extra help - or money - can be provided to try to fix the mess. Right now though, all the residents can do is wait. With no date to leave and no idea if anything can be done to keep the buildings open, they are spending every day fearing the call to tell them they have to go. They can only hope there will be somewhere for them if they do.
CBS News
15-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
Ceiling collapse forces woman out of her West View apartment
A ceiling collapse has forced a renter out of her apartment in West View. According to the renter, Jamie West, property management told her it was a top priority to get this addressed. Weeks later, she just wants out of her lease. West moved into her West View apartment at the corner of Princeton and Center avenues on March 1. Then on April 20, she noticed her kitchen ceiling sagging. "We were afraid to budge it. It looked like it was gonna fall," West said. West took pictures and sent them to her property manager. She told West to reach out to the fire department. They found holes and cracks in the wood above the drop ceiling, according to West. "He goes, 'Ma'am, I urge you to pack a bag. We are deeming this unsafe to live here, and you need to go,'" West said. West started living with a friend not too far away, but she's afraid to go back. Her brother, who has disabilities, comes over to visit, and West is worried about what could happen. "I want him to be able to come over and enjoy the outside with me, to feel comfortable in my home," West said. According to West, her property management is not consistent with responses. The answer she is receiving is that they are looking for a contractor. Currently, her apartment's power is still out. "They keep saying the electric can go back on. But if that's the case, why can't it go back on?" West said about her situation. West just wants to move out and move on. She worries about the potential for mold, and some of the wood breaks off when she touches it. "I'll be out of your hair. You do what you've got to do, and I'll be on my way to finding a new place to live," she said. KDKA reached out to the number West provided for her property manager. According to county records, the building is owned by Hillvale Properties LLC.
