Chisinau authorities urged to stop building mansard roofs

The City Hall continues to issue permits for the construction of mansard roofs atop apartment blocks in Chisinau without the consent of all the residents of those buildings, thus continuing to violate a number of basic human rights, denounced lawyer Violeta Gasitoi in a Tuesday news conference at Info-Prim Neo. The lawyer says she has evidence that constructors receive authorizations even if they produce fake feasibility studies and expert certificates, suggesting that City Hall officials could have a personal interest in issuing such permits. The conference was an occasion to present the situation of two apartment buildings, one situated at 15/1 Dimo Street and another one at 3/2 Neculce Street. In both cases, the buildings are too old to support such unsafe structures and in one of the cases the signatures of the residents were forged. The authorities failed to stop the construction and the residents had to take the bull by the horns and block the constructors' access to the roof by themselves. Violeta Gasitoi said that the local authorities display “legal nihilism” and if the domestic courts fail to deliver justice to the residents who are fearing for their safety, they will appeal to the European Court of Human Rights. Igor Ciubrin, a resident of the building on Neculce Street who is also an architect by occupation, said the constructor refused to show the blueprints to the residents. It was later revealed that the constructor intended to build a two-storied structure atop the building, rather than a mansard roof, and extend its area by using cantilevers, which would make the structure even more unsafe, especially in case of earthquakes. The architect also questioned the constructors' good taste.