In Satpayev, around 60 families have been waiting for more than two years to be relocated from an apartment building declared unsafe. Residents complain of through-and-through cracks, warped doors, and the building sinking, and the approaching winter is causing them particular alarm, reports infohub.kz.
The building was constructed in 1974. According to residents, the cracks continue to widen, and windows and doors are deforming. People fear a collapse and do not know how the building will survive the coming winter.
"The doors don't close, we have to sharpen them, saw them, cut them down so they close, everything is warped. The walls hum, these cracks are already through-and-through, they're widening. You can hear the wind. My granddaughter came in the summer and said: Grandma, I can't sit at your place. It seems to me the building is falling apart. Our walls are tilted, I can't put a vase on the table, it falls," said Lyudmila Krivochenko, a resident of Satpayev.
Residents claim that after receiving the unsafe building report, the relocation issue was never resolved.
"Before going to sleep, we pray that the building doesn't collapse at night and that we wake up alive. We only received the expert report declaring the building unsafe in 2024. But in these two years, we haven't been relocated. The akims change, but we're left with our problem," said Rashida Tukayeva, a resident of Satpayev.
People are especially worried about the approaching cold. According to them, wind penetrates through the damaged walls, and living in the apartments in winter becomes impossible. Some families are already forced to rent other housing.
"We've been renting an apartment for two years now. It's completely impossible to live in this building, especially in winter. All the walls are cracking. Building No. 150 is already sagging in the middle, between the third and second entrances. We demand that the akimat help: either provide housing or pay compensation," said Satbay Seralin, a resident of Satpayev.
After residents' appeals, akimat representatives inspected the building. Its condition is to be assessed by a special commission, but at the time of the officials' comment, it had not yet been created.
"Specifically for this building, a commission has not yet been created at the moment. It is only now going to be created, and its decision will be presented additionally. We plan to create the commission by the end of this week, today or tomorrow. We will announce the result at the beginning of next week," said Gulmira Nurmanova, head of the sector of the housing inspection department of Satpayev.
In total, the city has 28 unsafe and 223 dilapidated buildings. Residents of Building No. 150 are waiting for the commission's decision. According to them, for many families, buying an apartment or paying rent for other housing on their own is financially difficult.