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tenant rights question/problems with building management

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  1. #31

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    Management office replies "Say Gwailo go away la" lol they wont give a rats arse.

    TheBrit likes this.

  2. #32

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    The power in my - not in any way special - building has not been out for at least 547 days and 24 minutes, because that's how long my home server has been running without a reboot or a UPS. IIRC the last reboot was when my young lady accidentally bumped a cable, not due to an outage...


  3. #33

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    I've been to some old-fashioned run building estates here in HK, and all notices I've seen for water/electricity suspensions were in Chinese and English.

    Even the old walkup building I'm living in now, which has no security and main door has these notices put up in English.

    I never even knew in the 4 years I've lived in this building that there was even any building management, until today they stuck a warning on all the doors saying not to throw rubbish down the toilets.


  4. #34

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    Quote Originally Posted by shri:
    I assume it affects the whole block? Or sections of it depending on the sanitation plumbing. Have you thought of having a word with the building owners association about this? Have lived in large blocks for 25 years and never heard of flushing waters going out for 48 hours... But then may be that's how people roll on the darkside
    eventually, everything breaks down, pipes, pumps, electrical, all will need to be replaced. OP should thank Hong Kong architects for allowing no space for engineering services so they have to remove the old pipe first to replace it. I am going through this in my office, at least they shut off water over the weekend to do the work. they should shut down the water system every quarter for water tank cleaning but as @shri said rarely happens.
    @Brit other countries have two tanks, for example in the UK, so the maintenance guys can shut down one tank, and clean it, without interruption the water supply to the whole building. Here, the hong Kong water regulations prevented two tanks until WSD finally consented, so today, most new buildings have two tanks, but that leaves about 40,000 old buildings with one tank that never gets cleaned.

    Older buildings, opened before 1994 have galvanised steel water pipes, that was the standard. Eventually, the galvanised coating wears through exposing the steel underneath, the steel corrodes, contaminating the water, so many old buildings like Telford, etc. will replace the old galvanised steel pipe, piece by piece, and that takes several weeks. And thanks to those Hong Kong architects there is no space to install a new service in parallel, no space means ripping out the old pipe first, and then installing new pipe, which takes more time and longer disruption.
    TheBrit and jgl like this.

  5. #35

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    Quote Originally Posted by Megaroad:
    It is absolutely bad behavior. My toilet water has repeatedly been shut off. My electricity has been shut off on at least two occasions. My apartment has been flooded with toilet water. We have repeatedly had extremely loud, prolonged jackhammering. This time it is for "roof repair" even though there was a long period of jackhammering for "roof repair" not too long ago. This is NOT normal behavior and it would unheard of anywhere else in the advanced world. It is incompetence and stupidity. If what you have to offer is defense of this absurdity, please get lost.
    You appear to be new to Hong Kong. This behaviour is common here and commonly accepted by locals . We may disagree but it's their country at the end of the day. You won't win a legal battle. Just take the advice you have been offered to help you minimise the risk of similar inconvenience in the next place rather than insulting people who are giving you good advice.

  6. #36

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    An update on this: we have decided to simply move, and will be doing so by the end of the month.

    Thanks to those of you who were helpful (and there were several of you). To the "that's just how it is, wise up, you must be new here, blah blah" people: you are silly, weak, and ultimately dangerous.

    TheBrit, shri and DirtyHairy like this.

  7. #37

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    Quote Originally Posted by Megaroad:
    we have decided to simply move, and will be doing so by the end of the month..
    Good decision. Telford is very old.

  8. #38

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    Quote Originally Posted by Megaroad:
    An update on this: we have decided to simply move, and will be doing so by the end of the month.

    Thanks to those of you who were helpful (and there were several of you). To the "that's just how it is, wise up, you must be new here, blah blah" people: you are silly, weak, and ultimately dangerous.
    Harsh words, but that is the reality of things in this town - you will be very unhappy with your stay in HK, if you fight every battle with quixotic optimism. Far too much shit in this town, which is just easier to accept ignore and move on at times.

    Best of luck with the move - this time around, visit the management office and see if there are any major renovation plans / works being planned in the next year or two before you sign the lease or take your agent's / landlord's word for it.

  9. #39

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    Quote Originally Posted by shri:
    Harsh words, but that is the reality of things in this town - you will be very unhappy with your stay in HK, if you fight every battle with quixotic optimism. Far too much shit in this town, which is just easier to accept ignore and move on at times.

    Best of luck with the move - this time around, visit the management office and see if there are any major renovation plans / works being planned in the next year or two before you sign the lease or take your agent's / landlord's word for it.
    AND visit the place at least twice, during evening / night - at night you might find the street is a minibus parking, taxi car park, noisy dai pai dong, red light district, etc. under your window
    shri, jimbo, Fiona in HKG and 1 others like this.

  10. #40

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    Quote Originally Posted by Megaroad:
    An update on this: we have decided to simply move, and will be doing so by the end of the month.

    Thanks to those of you who were helpful (and there were several of you). To the "that's just how it is, wise up, you must be new here, blah blah" people: you are silly, weak, and ultimately dangerous.
    You remind me of myself on my first expat assignment, which was to KL in the mid nineties. There was SO much about KL I hated; the roads, the drivers, the lack of effort by service people fixing things, the filthy toilets in my office which backed up and flooded the floor; even when clean the use of that hose by other tenants left the toilets soaking wet. And so on. Lasted 2 years before I jumped at the chance to leave. When I look back at that time, I realise it wasn't really KL that was the problem, it was me. So - give it 20 years or so and you will mellow and realise that some things just are. Change what you can change, and work around what you can't. You will be happier for it. (And yes, I still try and change things that cannot be changed as many on here know, but not everything these days!). And yes, I do realise you are probably too young to actually listen.