RESIDENTS paying £4,000 a month to live in a “luxury” London tower block say their homes are plagued by leaks, mould and power cuts.
The Landmark Pinnacle in Canary Wharf, East London, is touted to offer “state of the art” living – but some tenants say their flats are riddled with issues.
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Jack Dowson has been living in the UK’s tallest residential building since March 2021 and says there has been “constant, consistent” problems.
The Tower Hamlets tower block formally opened last June and its dedicated sales website boasts about its “magical” amenities, including a private cinema, a children’s play area, and a formal garden lounge for adults, lounge and library.
The promotional material says the top floor (75) is “crowned by two roof terraces offering panoramic views across London”.
But Jack says many of those are actually able to be accessed currently.
He said: “The only currently open amenity [as of March 2022] is the gym. Nothing else is open.
“The indoor garden was meant to be open by now. And it’s been nine or 10 months since mine and other residents’ windows have been cleaned.”
Another resident, Sarah*, claims: “We were promised multiple cinemas, private dining rooms, and a whole floor dedicated to a garden. We were promised a viewing terrace.
“We have none of that at all. The only thing they have open is a gym – just one of the facilities listed on the website.”
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“People who live here get shafted. We spend extortionate amounts on rent…You have to go between two sets of [managers]. The building owners want to protect their profits.”
Jack says the most frustrating part is the air conditioning system behind out of order.
He said: “The issue I’ve struggled with the most is the cooling system failing. I have sensory impairments due to autism.
“At night-time, if the ambient temperature gets too high, it’s very stressful. Even with the window open the apartment has reached as high as 28 degrees.”
One thermostat reading shows a temperature of 35 degrees, allegedly due to the cooling system being down.
He said: “We’ve had major leaks leading to water pouring down people’s ceiling hatches and windows on the inside.”
“When I first moved in, I had mould appearing in my wardrobe due to communal leaks around the showers. There were really awful damp smells.
“When it was windy outside it would disturb it and stink the apartment out. It took three or four months for them to figure it out.”
Another resident, Yasmin*, told Canary Wharf councillor Kyrsten Perry: “I’m fed up. There is constant construction noise, the lifts [go down], and I regularly have to carry my shopping and pram up the stairs.
“It is so difficult to try and bring up my young family in this context.”
Cllr Perry said: “All these high rise buildings we’ve seen built over the last 15 years make many promises to residents.
“As a councillor, I see a recurring pattern of events. Where once you build above a certain height one starts to face real amenity issues, such as water pressure issues, water leaks leading to damp issues, lifts not working properly.
“Residents often complain of rising service charges.”
Landmark Pinnacle did not respond to requests for comment.
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It is understood management reject the residents’ claims and attribute some of the delays to the pandemic.
The Sun has contacted the Landmark Pinnacle for comment.
*Names have been changed to protect the complainant’s identity
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