Good news for the mostly elderly residents of the Mendelssohn flats in Tilburg. After taking massive action against the poor condition of their flats, major maintenance is finally being carried out. Housing association WonenBreburg was in house on Thursday to explain the plans. The residents will still have to be patient, because work will not start until 2025.
The black book that was presented in July, together with the SP, was full of complaints from residents. Mold in the bathroom, no tiles in the toilet, windows that cannot be opened and flats that cannot be heated. According to WonenBreburg, this is all being addressed.
Ilham Bouchlal, district team manager of WonenBreburg, denies that major maintenance is being carried out earlier because of the black book. She states that many complaints in the black book are not known to them at all. “We were unable to find many complaints in our system. If people complained about their house you should find that, but that was not the case.”
The manager also does not know why the residents have complained in the black book but not to the landlord. “Maybe people complain a lot to each other. Or they shout it at someone wearing a WonenBreburg T-shirt and then it doesn’t get picked up. I don’t know either.”
Residents committee
According to Bouchlal, 25 repairs have already been carried out, all minor ones: “After the release of the black book, we placed extra professionals at the flats to tackle everything that was complained about. The major maintenance was already planned for 2025. That remains the case. so, we just brought this information meeting forward.”
Ans Jansen, chairman of the residents’ committee of the flat, thinks differently: “I heard from a reliable source that major maintenance has really been brought to the fore by the black book. Contact with WonenBreburg is now also a lot better. It wasn’t very bad, but now it’s really much better.”
The landlord will quickly do something about the windows that cannot be opened by some residents of the apartment. The elevator, which did not work for a long time, is even currently being checked. A construction lift has been installed to take residents who cannot climb stairs down. Their mobility scooters are temporarily parked in a container.
‘Will be quite disappointing’
When major maintenance is completely completed in 2026, the flats should go from energy label D to A or even A+. The residents will receive new sewerage, a new kitchen and bathroom and new double-glazed windows. Ans Jansen of the residents’ committee: “I think many people are very happy now, but they have to take into account that a lot has been demolished. Tiles are removed, kitchens are removed, the shower is removed. That will be quite disappointing.”
But before that happens, most residents are happy with WonenBreburg’s commitments. Because it is also important: the rent will not increase.
READ ALSO:
Apartment residents are fed up and make a black paper: ‘Window doesn’t even open’
Sjef has been locked up in his apartment for two weeks because the elevator is broken