Residents of a 17-story building in Almaty fear that technical rooms could be transferred to a new owner, posing risks to their safety, reports infohub.kz.
Residents of one Almaty high-rise are seeking recognition of technical rooms as part of the common property. They worry that after the sale, building maintenance and engineering systems could be compromised.
According to residents, the building was commissioned 17 years ago. Throughout this period, the ground floor housed a dispatching room, accounting office, security, video surveillance system, and a storage room for cleaning supplies.
Acting chairman of the condominium association (OSI) Olzhas Kerimbekov called the dispatching room a key facility for the building's operation: "The dispatching room is the heart of the building. A dispatcher works around the clock there, and it houses all the lighting, elevators, fire safety, smoke exhaust, and general building services. The developer installed everything there."
Residents later learned that the utility rooms had been put up for sale. They fear that the new owner could use them as they see fit, and that condominium staff would be unable to quickly access essential utilities in the event of an accident, fire, or earthquake.
Residents have already taken the matter to civil court but failed to get their claims satisfied. Lawyers now recommend filing an appeal to have the technical rooms recognized as part of the building's common property.
One resident, Olga Nam, believes the sale could lead to undesirable consequences: "They will rent it out, and the deciding factor will be money, not what they open there — whether a food service or, excuse my language, a brothel. Or something that could harm us: insects, rodents — rats. We constantly fight rats, and under our entire building it's like a 'bomb'."