Struggling families living in an 'eyesore' tower block have been told their rent will shoot up on Christmas Eve. Residents living in the tower labelled ‘the biggest eyesore in Salford’ are being hit by a 20 per cent increase in rent.
Tenants of 120 apartments in the 24-storey Briar Hill Court in Pendleton will see their monthly rent rise from £545 to £650 on December 24. Just two months ago, Pendleton and Charlestown ward Coun John Warmisham, in a planning meeting, slammed owners of the block for ‘under investment’ and described it as ‘the biggest eyesore in Salford,'
Now, residents have contacted the Local Democracy Reporting Service over lifts that frequently break down that take days to be repaired, and outdated water heating systems which cost £100 a week to run. Many of the residents living in the block ran by Bury-based Sterling Property Management are elderly and disabled, but others are professionals, including a neurosurgeon who recently left to go back to his Syria homeland, reports the Manchester Evening News.
One resident said: “Sterling has stated that this [the rent rise] is so the rent is in line with other properties in the area. However, the difference between our and the other flats is vast. Other single-bedroom flats in the area boast mod-cons. The flats in Briar Hill Court are massively in need of both modernising and repair.
“Many residents can’t afford to have constant access to hot water because it is too expensive to run the boiler (my bill was coming in at around £100 a week). People can’t put the heating on because it is expensive and inefficient. .
“The lifts are about 40 years old, and constantly break down. The company is always reluctant to fix the problems and will not replace them. This means that residents have to walk up flights and flights of steep stairs, and those with disabilities remain stuck in their flats.”
Another resident said the intercom has been broken for at least three months, meaning people are unable to receive packages. “This has also meant some residents missing out on essential district nurse visits,” they said.
“The communal laundry has four appliances – two washing machines and two dryers. However, only one washer and one dryer have ever worked at any one time in the time I have lived here.”
Meanwhile, a third resident said: “People are frightened to call and ask for repairs because the staff at the agency are rude and uncaring. Their company line is ‘if you don’t like it, move’. This isn’t feasible for many of the residents who are on low/no income.
“We appreciate that the cost of living has increased, but many will not be able to afford this 20pc increase, especially if improvements aren’t made to the building. I am genuinely worried that many residents will be made homeless and I am worried that people will die over the winter due to the state of the flats and the increase in rent.”
Coun Warmisham has been contacted by several residents of Briar Hill Court and he described the conditions residents are living in as ‘unacceptable’. “I really feel for these residents,” he said. “This should not be happening in this day and age – people not looking after properties and then putting rent up.”
Coun Warmisham said he would be asking the Salford city council landlord licensing team to look into the issues raised by the residents. “They have the power to force landlords to bring their properties up to scratch,” he said.
Sterling Property Management have declined to comment.
