People have been left ‘helpless and depressed’ in their city centre flats as the building is plagued with leaks, cracked ceilings and no hot water.
Deeksha Shivakumara Swamy and Kathryn Swift, who both live in The Exchange student accommodation, told the ECHO they have faced repeated problems since they moved into the building on Hotham Street last September. In November last year, Eden Lochridge, a business student at Liverpool John Moores University, said he had left the city centre building two months early due to poor Wi-Fi, faulty lighting, and leaky windows that left his bedroom floor covered in water.
Urban Evolution, the letting company which oversees the student flats behind Lime Street Station, have argued all maintenance issues “when reported correctly are dealt with in a reasonable timeframe with tenants’ welfare at the forefront of our team’s minds”.
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Deeksha, who is studying a masters degree in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence at the University of Liverpool, said the problems are getting more “irritating day by day”. She said: “The first week when we moved in, it was just piping hot water that we got. For three or four days, we actually took a shower in the piping hot water.”
After this, she claimed hot water is often unavailable. She said: “I understand one hour or two hours, okay, the boilers are just heating up, I understand.
“But you’re giving me hot water for just one hour, depending on how many people they’re showering…this morning, I woke up at 8am. I went to take a shower at 8.30pm – I think that’s a decent time.
“There was no hot water. I had to take a cold shower in this weather. And this has been consistent since we moved in.
“I’ve come back from work now. I would like to take a hot shower and take off all the stress. But it’s not possible.”
Deeksha claims the socket for the heater has been hanging out since the day she moved in. There are also cracks in the ceiling and bad fittings in the property . She claims he has flagged these problems and other issues on the complaints portal for the building, but they have been marked as ‘completed’ without the issue being resolved.
She has also sent an email about his grievances to Urban Evolution, dated December 4.
Kathryn Swift, 20, is another student living in the building and argued the amount of problems she has faced is “ridiculous’ ‘. Kathyrn, who studies Law with Criminology at UOL, said: “When I moved in, they didn’t have any keys ready for me. It took a very long time to get that key.
“I still don’t have a key for the postbox four months after moving here. In the flat above us their shower burst which came down on the floor. The water was coming through our walls.
“The only thing we got told is that ‘it’ll dry’ from the maintenance team.
“In my flat, it’s just four girls. One day, a man walked into our flat. He just came in, looked at us and left.
“We found it was someone looking to move in, but no-one was showing him around and we weren’t given any notice.”
Deeksha and Kathryn, who both work part-time to pay for their rent and living costs, have said the issues in The Exchange are making their lives miserable.
Kathyn said: “I just think it’s ridiculous. Last year, we weren’t in that nice of an accommodation but it got sorted. I work part-time, 40 hours a week.
“Coming home and not having hot water, it’s actually violating. It’s a long list of things that should have been sorted.”
Deeksha added: “It’s very depressing, every morning, waking up to issues after issues. I have to study, I have to submit my assignments and also go and work part time.
“I’m already under pressure. And this is a mental added stress which should not be there in somebody’s life.
“It’s just that helplessness is making me worried. Sometimes in the night I wake up, I’m disturbed, I don’t have enough sleep. Everything is fluctuating and my mood is always upset.”
Both tenants have also said there was confusion about whether Urban Evolution was responsible for these issues or Legacie Developments, the owner of The Exchange, are responsible for these problems.
In response to these claims, a spokesperson for Urban Evolution said: “Urban Evolution are currently the appointed property managers at The Exchange Building and responsible for the lettings and management of the building.
“All maintenance issues when reported correctly are dealt with in a reasonable timeframe with tenants’ welfare at the forefront of our team’s minds, this is part of the reason we recently received awards from All Agents for most positive reviews in Liverpool and 3rd most in the whole of the UK.
“Water temperatures have been known to dip in a small number of units at the exchange during peak times. This is something our engineers are working on at the moment and will be fully resolved very shortly.
“Over 50% of tenants at the scheme have signed up to renew contracts for the next academic year which speaks volumes for how popular the luxury accommodation is with students.
“We have received no formal complaints since the last article was published in the ECHO at the end of November, in the last five weeks we have received a total of 33 work orders and completed 24 with an average turn around time of less than 24 hours. We currently have nine outstanding work orders due to the Xmas break which are being worked through today [January 4] and tomorrow.”
The ECHO has also contacted Legacie Development for comment.
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William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
