Residents of Old Aktobe Dormitory Demand Relocation from Unsafe Building

Residents of a dormitory in Aktobe are demanding to be relocated from a building that they say could collapse at any moment, according to infohub.kz.

City residents fear for their families' safety and are asking for alternative housing. According to the Aktobe residents, the three-story dormitory was built more than 40 years ago for employees of a local geological exploration enterprise. In the early 2000s, other people began buying up the rooms.

Residents complain that for the past 20 years, the sewage system has regularly failed, and the brick facade has been crumbling. In addition, constant dampness has led to mold in the rooms, and electricity is unreliable.

"We live on the third floor and are constantly repairing the roof at our own expense. It's useless—it keeps leaking. The sewage system gets clogged because it's old, from the time the building was constructed. No one has repaired or replaced it," says Aktobe resident Yulia Udovichenko.

Gulnar Smagulova says she doesn't sleep at night because she fears for her children's safety in such a building.

"Something could collapse at any moment. There's constant dampness here, but my biggest fear is that our children could be hurt in this building. I can't rent an apartment. I have three children, and landlords are reluctant to rent to large families, besides it's expensive," the woman says.

Residents say they wanted to apply for modernization, but were refused because many pensioners and disabled people live in the building and cannot pay off a loan.

The city housing inspectorate explains that the building has still not been declared unsafe.

"Apartment owners in the dormitory on Satpayev Street must first hold a general meeting and give consent for a technical inspection of the building. Consent from more than 50% of residents is required. After that, we submit a budget request for the expert examination. As soon as funding is allocated, we will inspect the building and decide its future fate," explained Asima Omarova, head of the sector of the housing inspection department of the Aktobe city akimat.