People feel "trapped" in their city centre flats as the building is plagued with issues including regular parcel thefts, leaking pipes and human faeces in the stairwells.
People living in Silkhouse Court, in Liverpool City Centre, told the ECHO they have felt unsafe living in the building for months due to ongoing security issues. Two residents, who spoke to the ECHO anonymously due to fears of eviction, claimed the front doors were fully unsecured at the front of the building which leads onto the busy Tithebarn Street.
Xenia Estates, who manage the building, told the ECHO they are looking to improve communication with residents and repairs being made to the maglock system and intercom but it is taking time due to their "bespoke nature".
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They said the unsecured doors mean people who do not live in the building regularly gain access resulting in constant postal thefts, people sleeping in the stairwell and human faeces being found in a public area. They added the entrance to the car park, which is underneath the building, also stays open giving unwanted people access to the building.
To make matters worse, the building's lifts were out of order for 12 days at the time of writing, meaning residents had to use the stairwell to access the higher floors. Xenia Estates has since confirmed one of the lifts is operational again. As well as being impractical for the elderly, young parents and people who have a disability, the residents said the lift not working contributed to the feelings of insecurity.
One resident who contacted the ECHO, a young woman who has lived in the building for six months, said: "Postal theft is constant – we actually tell people on our Facebook group to get your parcels delivered to a local shop because they will be taken from here.
"That's so unfair, we pay to live here but can't even get post. People are regularly using the stairwells to sleep. Everyone should have somewhere to sleep, but it can be potentially unsafe for anyone. It's enclosed, there's no CCTV, there are lots of risks.
"It just feels so unsafe. I'm a young woman who lives on my own who has to use that stairwell. If people are using it as a toilet and there is faeces everywhere, we have to walk past that mess. It's so unsafe and unhygienic.
"We need to feel safe in our own homes. You shouldn't be dreading coming home, thinking about what is the next issue."
The building has a Facebook group where residents post "10 times a day" complaining about a list of ongoing issues. The issues reported in the last few months have stretched from a lack of potable water, with the water being shut off twice in the last four weeks including once without warning, drainage pipes leaking onto the car park floor potentially resulting in a health hazard, flooding in a stairwell and the building's façade having exposed insulation.
Perhaps most worryingly are some issues with the building's fire safety. A resident who has lived in the building for 16 months, and works in building safety himself, claimed there are no fire-stopping provisions on plastic pipework in the car park.
He added: "This presents a huge risk of fire spreading vertically through the building." He said there are also a number of broken fire doors throughout the building.
The man told the ECHO residents can't wait to leave the block of flats, but many are trapped there due to tenancy contracts. He said: "Personally I've been accepted on a house – I can't wait to move out this building.
"However, the building is quite cheap when compared to other places in Liverpool, so a lot of people can't afford to move away. They will have to put up with these issues for as long as they live here. It's unfair that the building management doesn't see that."
The young woman added: "A lot of the issues as stand alone events are annoying, but if something was immediately done you would accept it. We get a lot of mixed messages. They'll tell one of us they are looking into the issues, but then someone in the Facebook group will say they've been told something different.
"If Xenia were caring, responsive and honest, if they were decent to us, it would be so much better. But they behave like we are hassling them, when all we are saying is we need water in our building, we need to feel safe in our building, we need to not have people just walking into the building.
"We don't even know if our insurance will be valid if something happens. We've said we live in a secure building, but how secure is it if people can just walk in? We're not getting in touch for fun, we want something to be done."
The ECHO put the residents' claims to Xenia Estates. A spokesperson for the property management company told the ECHO: "Xenia Estates respects residents’ security concerns following damage to the front door. We would like to confirm the custom-made doors have been replaced with repairs being made to the maglock system and intercom.
"There was an extended repair time with the doors due to their bespoke nature, with new parts required to be manufactured. Despite the problem being resolved, we will continue to encourage residents to request their deliveries are taken to the apartment door.
"There will always be an increased risk to goods if they are left in communal and entrance areas. Additionally, we have 24/7 phone lines and security on hand should any unauthorised personnel enter the property – please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
"There was a recent planned water outage to allow essential works to be completed to the pumps. The water was out for eight hours, four hours over the planned maintenance time and we sympathise with tenants for this added disruption.
"It is essential we maintain the plant equipment to ensure the property services remain in effective working order and no unexpected outages occur. The lifts were isolated for health and safety issues following a leak into the lift shaft. The leak repair was made immediately, and the lift shafts were subsequently dried out, with one lift becoming operational on 6/09/2023.
"The second lift will require further repairs before It is operational. Finally, we have actively communicated with the apartment owners throughout any major disaster. Unfortunately, these are not always communicated down to tenants/the residents and we are putting in some extra measures to ensure the inhabitants are kept well informed."
Residents said they received an email from Xenia Estates saying the work would be completed soon after the ECHO contacted the property management company.
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