I fidgeted nervously as the aircon serviceman appeared to be dangling precariously outside the window of my 10th Floor condo unit. He fiddled with the outdoor compressor before returning inside.

His partner, after some conversation to each other in a dialect of Chinese I could barely identify much less understand, turned to me to give me the verdict.

“Miss, something is clogged inside the pipe. We don’t know what but we’ll try to flush it out. Haiya, this condo a lot of problem, wan. The aircon, the piping all so cheaply made. This is the third such problem I get here – other condo in this area don’t have.”

He managed to fix the problem but his assessment didn’t please me a bit. It was only one of the many issues I have discovered upon moving into this condo just 5 months ago.

All That Glitters

This condo was by no means cheap nor was it considered high-end luxury. I specifically chose it for it’s proximity to my parents, what seemed to be a clean and well-maintained building and unit plus the added security they appeared to offer.

But having never stayed in a condo or high-rise before, I was ready for some teething issues on the shift.

I was told, among other things, that I would feel uncomfortable being so far from the ground and I may mourn the loss of a quick and easy entrance+exit to and from my home sans long elevator rides and awkward silences amongst strangers.

But nothing could prepare me for the real annoyances I was to face.

The Scent of Sewage

It had just been two days since I moved in. I was leaving the house when a pungent, unpleasant, egg-y odor assailed my senses. I told my partner to hold the door open as I retreated into the unit to investigate the cause of the sudden stench.

It appeared to be coming from the hole where the washing water drained.

I was perplexed but as quickly as it came; it disappeared. I texted the property agent who rented the unit to me – thinking it may be a plumbing issue. The last thing I wanted was to have sewage overflowing into my unit.

He of course, as agents do, feigned ignorance saying he knew nothing of stenches in the unit but no sooner had those denials fall swift and fast did he give himself away. He said, “why don’t you just close the hole like some of the other tenants have done?”

Gosh, you mean more tenants have been experiencing Eau de Sewage in their units but you “know nothing about it”? Thanks, dude.

I generally have a very poor regard for estate agents thanks to the tricky ones I’ve encountered so his behaviour just heightened the dislike. But the lack of integrity within the real estate agent community is beyond the scope of this post so I’ll let that sit for now.

Getting no help from the agent, I called the management of the condo complex. I received a slightly more honest response from the lady but no real redress.

“It’s bad isn’t it?” She began. Erm, like duh. “Yes, unfortunately many units are like that. You can seal off the hole if you like.”

I wasn’t sure what happened but both the agent and my condo management was acting as if it’s A-Okay that the sewage smells are free to waft in my already tight space.

Asking More Questions

Unsatisfied by simply being told it was a norm to live with; I asked around my circle of friends and relatives if they had ever experienced such phenomena. A close friend who has lived in condos for the past 15 years since she moved to KL, was quick to add;

“Yes, it’s very normal in Klang Valley. In fact, Developer X is especially famous for building condos with that problem. They do not install stink traps within the piping below your unit as they should and that’s why this happens. It’s a cost cutting measure. My current condo has it too.”

She then shared her methods of dealing with the stench. Upon her advice, I carefully covered the hole with a bag of coal to filter the air but not deprive myself of the use of the washing machine outlet.

Although, the fix has solved my problem; I am still struck dumb by the lack of care, quality control and accountability displayed by Malaysian developers over this issue.

Since then, I’ve noticed more quality defects that makes living here just that much more inconvenient. The bathroom sink would mysteriously clog and require declogging acid every two weeks, stones were found in the sink tap filter and the sewage smell now comes up the bathroom drains since the washing machine has been blocked.

The aircon was just another issue in a line of issues I’ve witnessed in just 5 months.

A Bum Deal

The only thing I consider my saving grace is that I do not own this condo. I am only renting it. Once the lease is up; I’ll be free to leave this quality control nightmare to some new, unsuspecting ‘victim’.

The condo is not by any means cheap either. It’s one of the more expensive developments in the area albeit not a luxury one. At the price I am paying for rent, I don’t really expect the Ritz but I certainly don’t expect to smell the scent of the Klang River coming up through my bathroom.

But more conversation with both condo dwellers within this condo complex and others tell me I am quite lucky. Other tenants/owners have experienced burst pipes and sewage flowing onto their entire wardrobes and destroying everything in it’s wake.

The aircon serviceman too, shared the worst case he worked on it my condo building: a case where the piping from the aircon became so completely damaged that the wall needed to be hacked and new pipes installed. He said the problem was simple: “the cheapest pipes” imaginable were used and broke down under the pressure of prolonged use.

I am Not the Only One

As much as I’d like to think my problems are unique; the many conversations mentioned above prove otherwise. But my confirmation came from a real estate agent who decided to tell the truth.

Just last month I met a retired agent who agreed to give me a no-holds-barred look into the sordid world of property wheeling and dealing. I told him of my problems and he laughed!

“Yes, famous problems indeed! The developers often just tell unit owners to spray lots of water into all the drainage holes to get rid of the stench! As if people have so much time to be going about doing that!”

I mentioned my disgust at such a lackadaisical attitude.

“They know middle class folk like you and I will live with it. They wouldn’t dare allow such quality issues in luxury condos – you know, the ones running into millions? Those guys will sue the pants off the developers if such issues crop up but regular folk living in middle-class priced units don’t have the resources to be suing for every little thing. They know that so they believe they can afford to be slack with these places.”

As much as the reality sickened me; I knew he was right and what he said made sense. I wouldn’t sue. I couldn’t afford it. All I can do is cover the hole and live with it. The same with so many others.

It’s Not OK

I don’t know what writing this will solve but I had to say it. It can’t be OK that condos costing such sums of money be so riddled with problems. I don’t know what I alone can do but perhaps if more people decided this is not OK, we might be able to change something?

Call it wishful thinking.

In the end, I can’t tell if you’re going to have the same experience moving into the condo; I can’t prove with evidence anything I have said or the viewpoints of anyone I’ve quoted here; I can’t say for sure what the problem is as I am not a builder or an expert on any level.

But I can say this: this is my story and if my hunch is right; it might be yours too, fellow middle-cost condo dweller. And if you have had the same experience as me; then that’s all the proof I need.