TENANTS of a property located at the corner of Waterloo and Quamina Streets in Georgetown and which was condemned by the Guyana Fire Service as unsafe for habitation, are complaining that their landlord has been refusing to do any form of remedial work to the property despite collecting a weekly rent of $5000 or $20,000 a month.
On Sunday, a 400-gallon water tank which the man had on a step some 20 feet above ground came crashing down almost injuring two of the tenants. During a visit to the location on Monday, one tenant, Naomi Natasha Younge, told the Guyana Chronicle that the condition of the place she has been calling home is in dire need of repairs and the landlord seems not to care less.

She said that in the case of the black tank, it had been sitting on the landing for some time now and whenever the tank is filled with water, the water would be dripping on the landing and the stairs which accelerated rotting of the steps. Another issue for the tenants is the issue of electricity, which they receive on two tranches per day: there is the day-time electricity and the night-time electricity. There are wires for the electricity in the day and when night falls, the man switches the wires.

All the electricity to the nine rooms in the building comes from the top quarters where the landlord lives. The tenants are now expressing concerns about their safety and the need for the house to be rewired. But Monday when contacted, Chief Fire Officer Marlon Gentle indicated that the fire service condemned the building since in 2010 and it is now on City Hall to act swiftly and do some level of enforcement.

When rent at the facility is paid to the landlord, no receipts are issued and added to that, there is no binding contract between the landlord and any of his tenants. A porous roof, a sinking house and foundation, collapsing ceilings, exposed wires and leaking toilets and so many other deficiencies are features of the house, which is divided into rooms and rented as apartments. The tenants all have their groceries and other items locked in their rooms.
For the persons living on the ground floor, they are required to share one washroom area and that also goes for the persons who are living upstairs and in the middle flat; they too are required to use one washroom and kitchen area. When the Guyana Chronicle attempted to speak with the landlord, he began to curse them out saying that she should go and check a doctor to see what sickness they have how they have AIDS. He also accused them of trying to mess up his operations and that they envy him for what he has: an old condemned house with several deficiencies and faults which clearly put the lives and limbs of persons at risk.