“Comment Is such a situation possible in a new construction?”asks Karine Polloni, owner of an apartment and member of the union council of the La Fabrick residence, located on Place des Mouisseques.
Made up of three buildings with 60 housing units in total, this residence was delivered in May 2023. Since then, the occupants have continued to see problems piling up.
Starting with infiltration from flat roofs where, as soon as it rains, water stagnates and seeps into the lower floors, flooding the stairwells all the way to the basement car park.
A visit to the site quickly allows you to take stock of the situation: everywhere, traces of infiltration and runoff are visible on the walls and plinths of common areas, where mold appears. Paintings need to be redone because entire sections are disappearing, while pieces of false ceilings are peeling off.
“It’s borderline unsanitary due to odors and fungi. It also causes electrical problems: the elevators regularly break down and, last week, the intercoms no longer worked”reports Karine Polloni.
Among other consequences: in building B, two people in wheelchairs are regularly stuck in their homes because of broken elevators.
The omnipresent humidity
If buildings A and B were sold to individuals, building C houses social housing. At a few glances, we can see cracks on the walls of the apartments, in addition to stains and mold.
“It’s very humid everywhere, explains Bilal, pointing to the gnats congregating on the ceiling. I’ve already given a lick of paint to hide the misery but it’s coming back.”
At her neighbor’s house, the ceiling drips when it rains and stains appear everywhere. In addition to infiltrations, Marie, tenant in building A, mentions other “worries”.
Among others: “The mailboxes installed outside the condominium are models intended for the interior. Result: when it rains, the mail is soaked. We also wonder about the insulation of the accommodation because in the summer, the temperature exceeds 30 degrees inside We also have a problem with the front door which does not close well, while the bedroom window does not open all the way, in short, we pay high rents and charges. but the performance is deplorable. Several tenants have already left to settle elsewhere.”
Faced with these difficulties, the union council called on the manufacturer, Sagec (1). “They came by, made observations but almost no work, assures Karine. In fact, they let it drag on for a year, to let the one-year deadline pass, and then disengage. And now we have to deal with the insurance taking over.”
What means of action?
At the request of the trustee, waterproofing work was carried out in July on the roof, “but it was no use, continues Karine. The company that intervened told us that the roof would have to be completely redone. The proof: it’s now leaking in places other than where they plugged it.”.
Certainly, the agent indicated that the search for leaks would continue and that new work could be carried out next year, but the patience of residents has limits.
The union council even used the services of a bailiff who, in a Prévert-style inventory, drew up a “report of incompleteness and poor workmanship”.
From now on, apartment owners are considering taking the advice of a lawyer in order to assert their rights. Above all, they fear that the value of the property in which they have invested will drop considerably.
For their part, tenants are considering freezing rents with a bailiff.
1. Requested by Var-morningSagec management did not respond to our messages.
