00:00This tower block in central Maidstone used to be home to around 200 people.
00:05Now it remains empty after the basement flooded back in May.
00:10Residents were due to move back in at the end of October,
00:13but after another flood hit the building in the last few weeks,
00:17building management company Centric said tenants and homeowners will not be returning home this year.
00:23The landlords here have had enough.
00:25It's been pretty hellish, I must say. It's been extremely stressful for everyone involved.
00:32It feels like it's beyond a joke now to have gone through one leak and one set of excess,
00:38which is £200,000, to then be told there is another leak, which requires another £200,000.
00:44Christine Marshall and her husband bought a flat here in 2018
00:49with the aim of supplementing their pension for rental income.
00:52She's frustrated about the continued delays.
00:56We were not given any accurate timescale.
01:00We were told two weeks, three weeks, then it was all next month.
01:06And then even prior to this last leak, we were told it would be the end of October.
01:14I know, looking inside, that the works were not complete.
01:19Landlords here at Miller Heights are still having to pay for the flats they own,
01:24even though no one is living in them.
01:26And it's these financial costs and the stress of them that are taking their toll.
01:32We have all reached breaking point, numerous costs.
01:35For me, I am to the age where I'm wanting to start a family.
01:39And the financial and even emotional burden that this property causes,
01:48I can't even think about that at the moment because I've got no idea when the next excess payment will
01:54be.
01:55I think the main issue is that it seems to always be falling down to the leaseholder.
02:00None of these issues that we face are any of our faults.
02:04In a statement, Centric said they recognise the significant disruption this has caused,
02:10including financial impacts, and remain supporting those affected.
02:14They have a dedicated email address for residents
02:16and they provide weekly updates and regular opportunities to ask questions and receive confirmed information.
02:23For now, all these landlords can do is carry on waiting for the day they can see their flats in
02:29Miller Heights again.
02:30Justine Lata for KMTV in Maidstone.
