CAIRO: The daily press has been abuzz with the latest developments in the rental/tenant disputes.
The residents of one old building in Heliopolis have lodged a complaint against the building’s new owner, accusing him of committing acts of sabotage to scare them away.
Such practices have common for owners in a bid to get a license to demolish the old building and raise a tower in its place.
The residents, mostly families with no other place to live, have reported the owner to the police more than 13 times in addition to filing six cases against him in law courts. The owner had once removed the roof tiles claiming he would replace them. The tiles were not replaced and the move turned out to be a maneuver intended to let rainwater seep into the building.
He was also said to have wreaked havoc with the block’s sewage system in an attempt to allow it to affect the foundations. A committee sent by the municipality found out that the owner was using demolishing tools, refuting his claim that he was undertaking repairs.
The operations were halted but the owner has once again hired workers to renew the sabotage. The tenants are pleading for the concerned authorities’ help to put an end to this chaos.
