I have been living at Stettiner Straße 21, in 13357 Berlin, for three decades now, this house has never been particularly beautiful or technically flawless, but we residents have been put to the test in the last 3 years, especially the last few months have become unbearable.
It began earlier with the refurbishment of the daycare centre on the ground floor, which was scheduled for completion in 2014. However, this only ended in 2017 (construction work 2013-2017). The installation of underfloor heating, which repeatedly caused problems with the hot water supply, meant that we had no heating or hot water for 1 1⁄2 months in the winter of 2016. The supply was switched back on sporadically, but the outage predominated.
We are currently in the middle of a string renovation, which has resulted in an unacceptable living situation. On the following pages, I will describe my current situation and hope that you can help us.
The lifts are in a miserable state and emergency repairs have to be carried out constantly. There have also always been defects, such as missing parts of the interior panelling, etc. There are also no TÜV stickers visible.
The "small" lift suffered water damage and was shut down for 6 months. At the beginning of the year, it was put back into operation at the same time as the construction work started. There was a strong smell of stale water in the lift and (probably due to the humidity) there was a "plague" of mosquitoes. When we drove up from the underground car park or the basement, you could hear water dripping down. At the moment the lift is broken again, the motor is said to have burnt out.
The "big" lift is currently working from time to time (a matter of luck), at the same time as the motor of the "small" one broke, the chain of the "big" one also broke, resulting in several weeks of downtime. The "big" lift is covered (see picture) and is used to transport building rubble, which was excluded in the announcement letter.
The hot water supply fails several times a year. A tradesman and a Degewo employee reported that the system has two boilers that are far too small for this house. The system is currently only supposed to be operated with one boiler, the other is probably not working. Furthermore:
- The emergency fire escapes are difficult to reach.
- The doorbell system often doesn't work for days.
- The lighting in the hallway (5OG) keeps breaking down.
- The windows in the stairwell are defective.
- The bicycle cellar is no longer accessible, which means that a lot of things collect in the corridors.
- Doors to the boiler room and other areas that should not be accessible are often open.
Floor-Flex panels which are open and defective, these and the adhesive may contain asbestos. The tiles in the living room and dining room were replaced at the time. A neighbour has received a letter from the building society confirming that the panels and the adhesive contain asbestos (see picture).
- The windows have been leaking for years, they are modern and have holes
- The heating valves do not open and close properly
- Lowered floor in the bathroom on the 5th floor and in the kitchen on the 4th floor
- Cracks in the kitchen wall, upstairs bathroom and downstairs bathroom
- The drains are often blocked.
Repairs carried out in this flat are mostly not of high quality and the same problem reappears after a short time.
On 5 October 2020, Degewo carried out an inspection during which we discussed the state of health of the people living in the household. I tried to raise the issue by phone before the inspection and was only told by Degewo (Ms H.) that an inspection would take place, quote: "that's what they're there for". The main issue was access to the toilet and the build-up of dust. Due to her medical history, my mother has a ventilator. The ventilator must be connected at night, if this is not the case, it could have drastic health consequences. Due to the intake of dehydration tablets, my mother must be able to access the toilet quickly (see picture).
In addition, my wife suffers from chronic lung disease and has multiple allergies that can favour seizures (see picture).
Degewo showed little willingness to work on a solution, demanded a medical certificate from my mother and made the mocking suggestion to put my mother in a nursing home, quoting: "If your mother is so unwell, you should consider putting her in care". Degewo threatened that we would have to bear the additional costs incurred in the event of a delay. Ms H. (Degewo clerk) gave me a deadline of 11 October 2020 to submit the certificate, but she also mentioned that their mail system takes up to 3 days to process. I sent the certificate by email on 07.10.2020.
A little later, I got a call with the suggestion to buy a camping toilet and send the bill to Degewo. In general, Degewo wanted to provide a container with sanitary facilities. During the inspection, Mr Janz emphasised
(Degewo site manager) that there was even a hot water supply, quote: "Other site managers only provide a porta-potty". There was and still is no container.
On 25 October 2020, we cleared out the entire kitchen and bathroom.
On 26.10.2020, the site manager (company XXX, Mr X) came with his workers and discussed the situation. The washing machine should be connected in the upstairs bathroom, the kitchen is only unusable for one day, water / sewage is only interrupted for about 4-5 hours, a dust protection is set up because of the certificate, these should, as the name says, not let dust through.
On 27 October 2020, workers began to dismantle parts of the kitchen equipment and put up dust walls.
Nothing happened from 28 to 30 October 2020.
On 02.11.2020 the demolition of the bathroom started, there was an enormous amount of dust. I asked a worker present if he didn't need a mask to work, he replied, quote: "No, I'm fine, 5 minutes work, 5 minutes break". The rooms "protected" by the dust walls were very dusty after the work. I tried to remove the dust, but was only moderately successful. There was an acrid odour in the air and we had a kind of coating in our mouths and throats. There was also an open hole in the 3rd floor, which still exists today.
The demolition work in the kitchen took place on 03.11.2020. At the time, I was in our living room, which was "protected" by a dust cover, when I was surrounded by a fog of construction dust (see video snapshot). I immediately complained to Degewo's central customer advice centre (Ms D.).
On 4 November 2020, the site manager rang and offered me 75.00 euros for cleaning the areas affected by the construction dust, quote: "I'll also lend you our hoover". One of the construction workers complained that we removed the "extra foil" (see video snapshot) to the living room, quote: "I can't stick new foil every day".
On this day, an asbestos pipe in the kitchen was to be removed and replaced. I wanted to speak to the workers before the work started. When I went to enquire when the work would start, I saw two builders handling a pipe in the big pack. One of the workers was hitting the pipe with a hammer. I repeatedly asked what was happening and whether the asbestos pipe had just been knocked off with the hammer. The men completely ignored me. I immediately informed the site manager, who assured me that everything was going according to plan.
On the same day, I informed the LKA and the LAGetSi and described my observation. The LKA arrived quite quickly and filed a report. An employee (LAGetSi) gave me the personal recommendation to leave the flat until there was certainty. I informed Degewo about what had happened in the building and confronted them with the recommendation to leave the flat, quoting: "I should write to the customer advice centre".
On 5 November 2020, the company XXX was required by the LAGetSi to clean the hallway, kitchen and bathroom and to carry out an air sample measurement, mainly for asbestos. The cleaning took 6 hours, the 2 workers were under full protection. The site manager (company XXX, Mr X) insisted on continuing the construction work in the morning and only abandoned his plan after the contact person at company XXX explained to him that this would only be possible after the air sample measurement.
After the cleaning, an employee from XXX (Mr X) and XXX (Mr X) arrived. They explained the procedure to me and that the measurement would take 8 hours. Mr X set up the air measuring devices in the hallway and living room and asked me to supervise this in order to give him confidence, quote "I want you to have confidence". I spoke to Mr X about the problems in the house and he shared my concerns that day. Mr X pointed to the Floor-Flex panels, for example, and said they would probably
Asbestos include. I also talked about the security measures in the house and the flats, where Mr X admitted to having concerns too, but didn't want to go into detail.
When we were in the hallway, I drew Mr X's attention to the work being carried out in the former flat of the X family, where a floor containing asbestos was to be removed and sanded. I informed Mr X that the door to the flat kept opening and closing and that workers were leaving the flat. He didn't want to believe this at first until he saw for himself. Mr X asked the worker he had encountered about the "black area" and his reply was: "I don't need any". When asked if he didn't need protective clothing (he had dungarees, FFP2 mask and gloves) and if he worked downstairs like this, the answer was quote: "Yes, I work like this, what's the problem?". I asked Mr X if I should inform the LKA, he said no and said he would take it on record and report it. Several neighbours also noticed the whole thing. The work in the former flat of the X family lasted until after
19:00, which caused a commotion in the street. The huge hoover (container on the street) caused a huge noise so that two men from the house opposite climbed onto the scaffolding and loudly insulted the workers and confronted them about the situation. The construction workers gave in and stopped their work.
On 06.11.2020 the samples were collected at 9:30 am. At 12:40 pm I was informed of the result by Mr X (company XXX) by telephone. According to the laboratory results, neither asbestos nor Gibs fibres were found. I decided to report the events of the previous day to the LKA myself. I also wrote an e-mail to the LAGetSi and received a call back promptly. In this phone call, I was informed that the SiGeKO (Mr X) did not want to comment on the incident the day before. The whys and wherefores remain unclear to this day.
No work has been carried out in this flat since 06.11.2020.
According to neighbours from the house next door, as well as direct neighbours in the same house, reported that the site manager (company XXX, Mr X) was telling people that we had tested positive for coronavirus (which was not true). After the quarantine was lifted, this quickly ended in social avoidance. The people in the kiosk avoided us, as did the neighbours from the building next door.
Even the construction workers asked me whether we were corona positive or not
On 10 November 2020, there was a meeting of the
Degewo in our flat (see statement by Mr XXX).
Interest was only shown in the construction work.
Present were Ms K. (Degewo, customer management), Mr J. (Degewo, site manager), Mr X (X, site manager), Mr X (technical management), XXX (witness) and myself, Dominic XXX.
Degewo tried to talk everything down and use targeted gaslighting. Here are some examples:
- It is normal for there to be dust on a building site o It is reasonable to live in the flat
- "You are the only tenants out of 15,000 who are complaining" o "You are welcome to try to claim damages in court" When I asked where we should cook, I was told to wipe off the dust and cook in the living room with the borrowed hob (see pictures).
That day I asked Mr X why he said we were corona positive, he raised his voice to me and threatened to report me to the police.
During the demonstration that the glued dust walls do not hold, I took a finger and pressed the dust wall very lightly, the wall folded over. At that moment, Mrs K. shouted at me and the witness, saying, "Did you see that? How he damaged it, you're a witness here!"
When leaving the flat, one of the 3 gentlemen said "such a ragged flat, and then make demands".
We tenants were organised through a group chat and wanted to confront Degewo in the hallway all together, there was a lot of anger due to the "collateral damage" which was always played down by Degewo. Almost all the tenants were asked whether they would consider moving permanently. We heard about problems several times the "first time". I was personally talking to a neighbour about the situation when suddenly Mrs K. shouted across the corridor at me with the following words: "Oh, Mr XXX, leave the neighbours alone".
I asked several times for a transfer to a replacement flat. This was always denied. Since most of the hotels have closed completely due to the pandemic, those who would rent us a room, at their own expense, would need a letter stating that the flat was not habitable and that this was an emergency situation. Degewo also refused to do this, according to Mrs K. (They will never get this from us).
I have already contacted the Degewo management board and was referred to Mrs G. (Degewo, crisis management). Mrs G. initially wanted to help with the clarification, but then only wanted to comment in writing. (I have not received the letter to date)
On 13.11.2020 I spoke again with Mr J. (Degewo, site manager), he tried to accommodate me and suggested the following:
He would contact them by telephone on 16 November 2020 to arrange an appointment for the continuation of the construction work. The washing machine was to be connected on 16/11/2020. He would take care of it, they said. As expected, nothing happened.
In addition, we tenants have already been informed that the entire flats are to be renovated at the beginning of 2021. The tenants will be moved to alternative flats for a period of 6 weeks.
There seems to be a general problem at Degewo,
https://www.asbest-berlin.de/ With kind regards
Family XXX
Relevant article:
Degewo tenant Stettiner Str. 21: "This refurbishment is HELL" (BZ Berlin)"Parts of conversations that do not belong to the core area of the private sphere may be utilised if the interests of the general public outweigh the interests of the parties to the conversation, which are protected by fundamental rights, to such an extent that utilisation of the tape recordings is to be regarded as permissible."
Bavarian Supreme Court (BayOLG) - Judgement of 20 January 1994 - File number 5 St RR 143/93
