Cockroaches, Syringes, Broken Glass, Crime, Neglect: Residents tell SGM of rapid deterioration of Horizon Apartments under new management
Horizon Apartments constitute the large building at the bottom of Borough Road, to the Southeast of Sunderland City centre. Recently, numerous residents of the tower have wrote into SGM asking for help and voicing their concerns at what they state to be the rapidly deteriorating condition of the building after it was taken over by a new property management company: UK Realty.
The tenants accuse the new company of neglecting and mismanaging the building, gravely. Woman A tells SGM: “I have lived here 4 years and through all ups and downs the management company were kind and kept security good. We had cockroaches and they sorted it fast and well. They resigned 4 weeks ago and now the new company have the block awful. I think this should be exposed.”
The woman goes on to tell SGM that maintenance has been neglected, with leaks, broken glass and windows all ignored, as well as pipes being blocked with sewage across multiple homes. Her, amongst others, state security is non-existent and homeless people overrun the building at night, leaving syringes, smashed whiskey bottles and other hazards.
Worse, crime is actively occurring inside the building, including a reported mugging, growing burgalries as well as threats made against people. The management is reportedly doing nothing to ensure the safety of those who live there.
Man B has a similar story. He describes the situation as “Absolutely horrendous”, noting that “it’s honestly just went to [a] shambles and nothing seems to be getting fixed or replaced or even cleaned”. He complains of clearly illegal practices being undertaken by the management, including leaving broken glass shards in windows they have boarded up, fixing a lock on a fire door, as well as charging tenants for water.
The tenants state they have nobody to complain to or turn to fix these problems, for all the staff hired are “unable to speak English” or “international students”, with no functioning reception existing in the building.
The property management company known as UK Realty has its official website here. The glossy photos of the properties on display, which includes advertisements for Horizon, are far afield from the grim realities of life in the block. A search for the company’s registered address leads us to a small estate agency office in Northwest London, headed by Nishant Harish and Upadhyay, Prashant Arvindbhai.
Despite that they are servicing a gigantic apartment building that should, in theory, be worth millions, the company reports that its assets amount to just £14,000! In 2021, they reported assets of just £130. The low figures clearly reflect the wafer thin, spend nothing approach to managing the tower. All of this poses serious questions as to what is going on regarding the management of one of Sunderland’s largest buildings.
Are you resident of Horizon Apartments, do you have any comment or evidence to add to this story? Please get in touch and email us at contact@sunderlandglobalmedia.org
