A student housing company has apologised for failing to communicate with residents about a burst pipe which caused flooding at an apartment block.
Students said they were left feeling both confused and concerned after the lack of communication from housing company IQ following the flood at Allen Court on Thursday 19 April.
Berceste Satar, 19, a student living on the fourth floor of the block in St George’s Close, said: “I felt very anxious not knowing fully what was happening.
“After unpacking my backpack I noticed my desk was wet, I looked up to the light and saw it was dripping.”
The flood started on the sixth floor when water began pouring in through the ceiling. It quickly ran down the stairs in turn causing all six floors to flood.
After notifying reception of the water coming into her room Miss Satar was informed that “maintenance was busy right now”.
Dario Grande, assistant manager at Allen Court, said: “The flood was caused due to a pipe which burst on the top floor.
“For the safety of the residents we had to check every room of the entire building and make sure everyone and the building was safe. We apologise for the lack of communication as we have tried to fix and make building safe for residents in a short time.”
Residents had received an email from the ACS Customer Service maintenance team just days before the flood occurred regarding ‘fluctuation in water pressure’ caused by ‘small amounts of air in the system’ after the Easter holidays.
Although the flood is not thought to be linked to the water pressure, residents said they were still left in the dark about the plumbing problem.
Miss Satar added: “What bothered me was the lack of information that was provided to us. We are emailed constantly about things like rubbish and keeping our space tidy but not when something important like this happens.”
Following the incident IQ Accommodation has now apologised for any inconvenience this may have caused to its residents. However, due to the flooding the building’s lift still remains out of order.
