Grotesque in a Favoritner municipal building in Vienna: Since the beginning of September, water has been penetrating from the apartment above into a tenant’s living room. The damage in the house is getting worse. However, a solution is not in sight.
Ernestine S. has been through a lot in life, but never that. For more than a month, water has been pouring into the living room of the pensioner with a lung disease from above. As a result, the walls, including those in the 71-year-old’s kitchen, are already very moldy. The cause of the damage – of course a burst pipe – has not been remedied to this day. The plumbers arrived immediately after the first message from the tenant. But they had to withdraw without having achieved anything.
Tenant not available
Why? The tenant on the fourth floor, where the water comes from, has not been available to Wiener Wohnen for six weeks. “The property management has tried several times to contact the tenant: in person, by telephone and by post. Unfortunately without success,” explains a spokeswoman for the company.
‘Nobody feels responsible’
At the same time, no one dares to break open the door of the man’s apartment. There is no immediate danger to the fire brigade and police. Management says they are not allowed to enter the tenant’s rooms without a court order. And the legal process lasts. Ernestine S.: “Nobody feels responsible.”
Also in the stairwell shape
And so the walls of the residential complex in the 10th arrondissement remain undermined. Mold is also visible in the stairwell. Michael Niegl, housing ombudsman for the FPÖ, calls for immediate action. “In order to protect the tenants and the rented property, the landlord must be allowed access to the housing in which the defect occurred without the tenant’s presence,” says Niegl.
Wiener Wohnen offers Ernestine S. a replacement apartment and interest rate reduction. However, the repair cannot start until all legal matters have been clarified.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
