Co-ownership work which lasted almost three years instead of the six months planned, with further defects and an additional cost of several tens of thousands of euros: this is the hardship experienced by Sandrine and a hundred other co-owners.
Capital Video: Co-ownership: “We spent a million euros on renovation… for work to be redone”
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– “The defects will cause new work, estimated at several tens of thousands of euros for the co-ownership,” fumes Sandrine.
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“I don’t know how long the guardrail will last…”worries Sandrine, pointing to the cracked bars from his balcony. If, again, she lived in a condominium in difficulty, where unpaid charges prevent financing work… But no, Sandrine lives in a very normal “copro”, who voted five years ago years the tidy sum ofa million euros to renovate all the balconies, the roof, and carry out the renovation of the facade. Even distributed among a hundred co-owners, a million euros remains a sum. “For my F4, it cost me 14,000 euros, which forced me to take out a loan”says Sandrine.
The work begins one year after their vote at the general assembly. Despite their scale, they are supposed last only six monthsaccording to the project manager mandated by the co-ownership trustee. Sandrine has a hard time believing it: “It seemed technically impossible, unless dozens of workers were dispatched to the site”. She tries to alert the union council and the other co-owners but in vain. “The union council is almost non-existent and many co-owners being elderly, they easily trusted the project manager and the trustee”she sighs.
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Tens of thousands of euros in additional charges
Sandrine was left speechless because a year and a half later, the work was still not finished. Tired of only seeing the light of day through scaffolding, other co-owners end up mobilizing alongside him. “We asked the trustee why the site seemed abandoned but he didn’t answer us. We spent a lot of time writing to the mayor, alert on social networks and, as if by miracle, the construction site resumed”relates Sandrine.
The work is finally coming to an end, almost three years after it began. But the relief for co-owners will be short-lived. “Very quickly, poor workmanship appeared. Particularly on balconies, where rainwater does not drain away.testifies Sandrine. However, stagnant water poses a risk of corrosion of the metal frame of the balcony. A risk that seems already proven for Sandrine when she sees the cracked bars of her balcony. “The defects were the subject of hundreds of pages of bailiff’s reports. They will cause new work, estimated at several tens of thousands of euros for the co-ownership »fumes Sandrine. “Who will pay this additional cost?”she asks herself.
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A co-ownership that looks like a “Titanic bis”
The trustee will try to find a amicable solution with the project manager, after having considered legal action. But, according to Sandrine, the trustee lacked vigilance during the work and should therefore pay out of his own pocket the additional costs linked to the defects. Once again, she feels alone: “Elderly co-owners do not have the strength to take legal action against the trustee. And, among the youngest, many don’t care because there is turnover in the co-ownership, with quite a few newcomers who did not have to finance the work voted for five years ago…”
With her balcony leaking and the tens of thousands of extra euros hanging over her copro’s nose, Sandrine has the impression of being on “the Titanic again». SO, “the lamps which never go out in cellars with wooden doors, at the risk of causing fires, is almost anecdotal”, she quips.
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