Residents of the tenement house at 2 Mazowiecka Street live in terrible conditions. The toilet is outside. It freezes in winter. But that is not what worries the tenants most. The air smells damp—even on the second floor. Mold covers the walls. Plaster is crumbling. The foundations are made of sandstone, which absorbs water like a sponge.

The house was built before the Second World War. It has no insulation. To make matters worse, the tenant of the neighboring plot built—a high driveway without consulting the Municipal Housing Management Company—that blocked the outflow of water. Now, after rain, a muddy pool forms next to the house. The tenement’s basements are flooded.

It is hardly surprising that the residents would most like to move away. “We would like at least two small rooms and, above all, a bathroom—we don’t want spacious living rooms,” says Małgorzata Żabska. “If only the damp could disappear,” she adds.

The Żabskis have lived on Mazowiecka Street since 1997. They do not want to be photographed. Before they moved in, the apartment stood empty for some time. “Once I started cooking and burning in the stove, everything began to emerge,” Mrs. Małgorzata complains. Clothes become saturated with damp and odor. The windows have to be opened at least once a day. The walls are painted at least once a year. It helps very little. The building’s administrator replaced only the kitchen floor and the windows. “It’s a ghost house, as they say,” complains Małgorzata Żabska.

“A terrible cold comes up from the floor,” says Aniela Mazurek. The walls of her apartment are so wet that frost appeared on them in winter. Mrs. Aniela has lived in the tenement house for 22 years. In 1994, she submitted a written request to renovate the building. She was told that insulation around the house and a concrete apron would be installed in 1995. Nothing was done, however. Mrs. Aniela’s neighbor has lived in the tenement house for more than 50 years and does not remember any renovation.

Last year, Aniela Mazurek received another letter from the building’s administrator. “I learned that I use the apartment improperly, that the basements are supposedly dry, and that they see no need to install insulation,” the tenant says indignantly. Because of the damp, she developed lung disease and respiratory failure. “There isn’t a year when I haven’t been in the hospital at least once,” says Aniela Mazurek. In 2001, she applied to exchange her apartment for health reasons. This year, she was offered an apartment. It was tiny, though. As she admitted herself, she would have to throw away two-thirds of her furniture. The City Hall therefore advised her to look for an apartment on her own.

A modern building is being constructed next to the deteriorating tenement house. A luxury hotel has been built behind it. Both the building and the hotel are privately owned. Both are located very close to the house at 2 Mazowiecka Street. The tenants fear that once construction is complete, they will be completely blocked off and cut off from the outside world. On top of that, the street surface is damaged.

What does the administrator say?

“The insulation will not be installed,” says Piotr Woch, deputy director of MZGM. The walls of the tenement house were drilled. It was determined that the building is not damp. According to Piotr Woch, “the problem lies in how the apartments are used, heated and ventilated. We have discussed these matters with the residents many times.” In the deputy director’s view, the residents themselves contribute to mold developing on the walls—for example, by drying clothes indoors.

The only information available is that, if weather conditions are favorable, the surface of Mazowiecka Street will be repaired later this year. Municipal officials are to ensure that the problem of the muddy pool also disappears. They will approach the hotel’s owner and ask them to rebuild the driveway or install a drainage grate. That may take some time.

(GA report)