Residents of a block of flats for those on the housing waiting list in Turkestan claim the building's structure is deteriorating and cracking.
According to KTK, the residents reported that the building is only six years old but is already a danger to live in.
Lazzat Zhumanova, a mother of many children, said problems began almost immediately after receiving her flat.
"It hadn't even been a year when our pipes burst. The same happened in the next entrance. And the house was built without a foundation. How is it supposed to stand? Water started to collect underneath it, the house began to lean, and after that all the tiles started to fall off. Cracks appeared on the first and second floors," the woman said.
According to the residents, every winter when the heating is turned on, the pipes burst, and meltwater and rainwater collect under the building. The residents claim that because of this, the house is gradually subsiding and splitting at the seams.
After numerous complaints, the city administration (akimat) hired a contractor for repairs. Workers sealed the cracks and plastered the walls. However, according to the residents, the condition of the house worsened after the work.
"It was better before the builders showed up! They started digging from different sides of the house to make a blind area. But the house cracked even more after that. They said they would reinforce it, but it doesn't even have a seismic belt. There was a crack 5 centimetres wide in my flat! They filled it with foam and plastered over it. And now they say: 'It's under guarantee, everything is fine,'" the residents complained.
In turn, the head of the contracting company, Yerlan Zholdasov, confirmed that the repairs were carried out under a verbal agreement with the city administration.
"How can I guarantee that the house won't collapse? I didn't build it! I carried out repairs. On the repairs, yes, I can give a one or two-year guarantee. Because everything was done properly, mesh was applied over the cracks," he stated.
The Turkestan city administration reported that the warranty period of the development company had long expired. According to the department, the new repairs were funded by sponsorship money.
The authorities claim the building has undergone technical inspection twice and has not been declared unsafe. At the same time, the administration clarified that they plan to reinforce the building's structure up to the fourth floor in the future.
Despite the authorities' assurances that there is no cause for panic, residents continue to record new cracks and fear the building may not survive another season.