Use of troubled apartment block prohibited in Eastern Finland

Entire building left without electric power and heating in September

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The municipality of Siilinjärvi in Northern Savo is proposing a ban on an ill-fated apartment block located in the Harjamäki area of the town.
      The construction supervision unit has now found the house on Pasurintie 2, built in the 1950s, unfit for use.
      The most serious deficiencies in the apartment block are related to fire protection.
     
In September the local energy utility cut off the distribution of electricity and heating for some days, as the owner of the building had failed to pay the power bills for a long period.
      Tenants woke up to discover to their surprise that the lights did not work and the water ran cold in the taps.
      The electricity bills based on the readings of the building’s only electricity meter have been sent to the owner of the property, a Spanish investor.
     
In the autumn, the construction supervision unit inspected the apartment block, stating that the owner was obliged to repair the defects by the end of November. A second inspection revealed that nothing had been done.
      ”I will propose to the board of construction that the use of the house should be prohibited. The dates and other details have not been clarified yet”, says building inspector Oiva Ollikainen.
      Head of debt collection Pekka Oikarinen from the local electricity supplier Savon Voima says that the company has continued to supply electricity to the building.
      However, the owner of the building has asked the power company about the possibility of cutting off the distribution of electricity.
      ”The matter has been left to her discretion”, Oikarinen concludes.
     
Most residents have left the building.
      As far as is known, only three tenants are left in the house, while in September nine apartments were still occupied.
      New accommodation has been arranged for the residents by the municipality.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Entire apartment block left without electric power and heating in Eastern Finland (25.9.2009)

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