{"id":21313,"date":"2025-04-15T06:52:11","date_gmt":"2025-04-15T06:52:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/21313\/"},"modified":"2025-04-15T06:52:11","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T06:52:11","slug":"we-had-a-roof-leak-in-our-flats-but-they-just-got-a-paddling-pool-to-fix-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/21313\/","title":{"rendered":"‘We had a roof leak in our flats, but they just got a paddling pool to fix it’"},"content":{"rendered":"

The council has issued a ‘hazard notice’ against the city centre blockA banner has been put outside the block of flats riddled with issues(Image: Sian McCann)<\/p>\n

City centre flats have been declared a \u2018hazard\u2019 after a roof leak was reportedly \u2018sorted out with a paddling pool\u2019.<\/p>\n

One resident of 32 Mason Street, an apartment building in New Cross which was converted from commercial premises in 2020, claims they have been plagued by the leak for years, with the paddling pool left in the roof void \u2018filling over\u2019 and not fixing the issue.<\/p>\n

Sian McCann, 45, said the leak has caused \u2018mould\u2019 in the communal hallways, and \u2018slugs\u2019 to grow in the \u2018ceiling\u2019.<\/p>\n

The problems have become so bad that the council has now issued a \u2018Hazard Awareness Notice\u2019 to the building\u2019s owners – and has advised residents to seek legal advice.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s ridiculous, it\u2019s so bad,\u201d sighed Sian. \u201cThey [the building owners] promised and promised, but there\u2019s always an excuse.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of them \u2018sorting it out\u2019 was putting a paddling pool to catch the water. And it\u2019s filled over.\u201d<\/p>\n

To make matters worse, the water ingress has ruined the lift\u2019s electrics, so it\u2019s been \u2018out of action for about two years\u2019.<\/p>\n

In turn, that meant property managers had to store large bins, which were previously in the basement car park, outside \u2014 which residents claim attracts rats and fly-tipping.<\/p>\n

The mould in the building(Image: Sian McCann)<\/p>\n

But Sian, who moved to Mason Street in 2021, said water coming into the building isn\u2019t the only aquatic issue. Since November, the water supply to her flat has intermittently failed with \u2018no rhyme nor reason\u2019.<\/p>\n

Sian, who pays \u00a31,550 in rent every month, added: \u201cYour life is completely on hold. You do not know if you can wash today.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe longest I have seen is 165 minutes, nearly 3 hours. Then it might come back on then it might go up again.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou find yourself booking a hotel and staying anywhere just so you can definitely wash your hair. The gym membership is not just nice to have. It\u2019s an absolute necessity because I need to shower.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sian eventually protested against the issues by hanging a banner on the exterior of the building appealing for help.<\/p>\n

Council issues ‘hazard’ notice on owners<\/p>\n

Such are the problems at 32 Mason Street, Manchester City Council has issued a \u2018Hazard Awareness Notice\u2019 to the building\u2019s owners.<\/p>\n

A spokesperson said: “The council was initially made aware of issues at the property in 2020 and a comprehensive assessment was undertaken and the management company at the time undertook repairs on sections of the roof.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, problems have persisted and despite a change in ownership, a Hazard Awareness Notice was served, which remains in force.<\/p>\n

“More recently we have been made aware of water supply issues and lift failure, likely caused by water ingress, which means the bin store has been moved outside. The council is currently in contact with the management company to enclose the bins within a secure area, which should prevent flytipping and rodent issues in the future.<\/p>\n

The lift has been out of action for two years(Image: Sian McCann)<\/p>\n

“The council would not use public resources to repair the property directly due to the costs involved.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd further enforcement action would have to be served on both the freeholder and the leaseholders living in the building, which would unfairly implicate those directly affected.<\/p>\n

“As such, we are continuing a dialogue with the owners of the property to address the issues as soon as possible \u2014 and we have advised the residents to seek independent legal advice.”<\/p>\n

What owners have said<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for building managers Gateway Property Management confirmed the issues residents face, and said the leak started because \u2018the roof was not replaced when the building was converted from a commercial space\u2019.<\/p>\n

Their statement said: \u201cFollowing the commencement of Gateway\u2019s management of the property, the water ingress issues were immediately evident. The leak had spread into the passenger lift\u2019s mechanics, which caused the lift to be out of service.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe quickly discovered that there was a paddling pool in the roof and this was swiftly removed. A full investigation into the cause and location of the water ingress into the communal areas was then carried out.<\/p>\n

(Image: Sian McCann)<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was determined that the roof of the building was not replaced when the building was converted from a commercial space into a residential space and therefore the roof will now require replacement. This is a major undertaking that requires thorough consultation, and Gateway is engaging with residents about this in line with Section 20 Major Works legislation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe communal bins are normally stored below ground level in the property and are brought to the ground floor via the lift. As the lift is out of service, the bins were moved temporarily to exterior of the building. Heras fencing has been installed around the bins to avoid any future attempts of fly tipping.<\/p>\n

\u201cRegarding the water supply, we have been working extensively with the residents to find the source of this issue. Gateway\u2019s investigations are ongoing, with multiple specialists involved to help determine the cause of the problem.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe fully empathise with the residents regarding these issues and are in active communication with them throughout the resolution process.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The council has issued a ‘hazard notice’ against the city centre blockA banner has been put outside the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21314,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[8830,748,393,4884,2465,8086,8828,285,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-21313","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-ancoats","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-england","11":"tag-great-britain","12":"tag-manchester","13":"tag-manchester-city-centre","14":"tag-manchester-council","15":"tag-politics","16":"tag-uk","17":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114340662407075077","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21313","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21313"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21313\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21314"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21313"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21313"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21313"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}