The locked front door of the social housing unit complex at Condamine Court was of little use when masked assailants decided to attack David Bryce in late July.
The two hooded men simply crawled through a smashed window in the entry foyer, walked up the stairs, cracked open his door with a steel crowbar and then hit him with it.
He put his arms up to protect his face as the blows rained down but refused to fall to the ground.
"I think if I had gone down, I would have been flogged half to death," he said.
"I don't know what game these d---heads were playing. I was here in my underpants getting flogged at 2am, trying to protect myself.
"But if we had proper security, they wouldn't have got into the building in the first place."
Mr Bryce's assault, which broke bones in his hand and opened up a deep wound in his head, came after a series of issues which have plagued the unit complex in Turner.
Both ACT Housing Services Minister Rebeca Vassarotti and Liberals housing spokesman Mark Parton had visited the complex the day before the incident and spoke to residents. Yet blatant security breaches - such as the missing glass - were not addressed.
Back in March, Mr Parton had written to ministers Vassarotti and Yvette Berry about how the majority of the stairwell doors had been "forced open or smashed so they could not longer be closed".
Little has changed since.
Gus Bamberry, a resident at the complex for six years, said building security and maintenance were the two key issues for residents.
"This place is full of really good people, it just has a bad reputation. I had some very scary neighbours when I first moved in but after a while I got to know them and they turned out to be OK. A lot of the issues here are with people who don't live here coming in and causing trouble. But without security, you can't keep them out," he said.
The Condamine Court residents don't blame the complex housing manager, who reports the issues. The problem, they say, appears to be a disconnect "further up the food chain".
Some recent capital has been spent at the complex with new shade facades installed and expensive heat pump hot water systems placed on balconies.
But Mr Bryce, who has worked on building sites, said the complex was old "and old buildings need constant upkeep".
Behind his stove he found a leaking water pipe that had damaged the wall and dripped onto exposed electrical wiring.
The contractors did a quick repair and left without even replacing the gyprock plasterboard.
Housing ACT maintenance is managed under an agreement with contractor Programmed Facility Management, which provides programmed monthly performance reports, including response times and the number of urgent, priority and routine works.
The directorate said once a complaint had been lodged, Programmed were required to reply to the person making the complaint within 16 working days.
"We are are dedicated to ensure all complaints are treated with respect and fairness," the directorate said.
We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.
