03.08.2026 19:51
In Büyükçekmece, water leaking from the plumbing on the top floor of a 4-story building victimized a tenant on the 3rd floor. The family, whose home has been unusable due to the leak ongoing since May 2nd, is living in unsanitary conditions. Unable to find a solution after the owner of the upper floor refused to allow renovations, the citizen applied to the police, the district governorship, and the prosecutor's office. Stating that they have fallen ill from the dampness, Karakaş made a plea for help on social media.
According to a resident of a building located in the Atatürk Neighborhood of Istanbul's Büyükçekmece district, a leak allegedly originating from the water installation of the apartment on the 4th floor damaged the ceiling of the apartment on the 3rd floor.
WATER HAS BEEN LEAKING FROM CEILINGS FOR 3 MONTHS Gürhan Karakaş, who lives as a tenant in the apartment where water leaking from the ceilings for 3 months has reached the lower floors, claimed that they applied everywhere but the problem could not be solved. Karakaş, who said some residents of the building left the building, filed a criminal complaint against the tenant living upstairs.
"IT STARTED ON MAY 2 AND INCREASED GRADUALLY" Karakaş said, "The flooding in our home started on May 2. It started drop by drop but then gradually began to increase. It dripped onto all of our belongings, and started seeping slowly through the ceiling covering, beginning from there. It seeped slowly over the bathroom covering and started from there. Then it covered every part of the house. We immediately notified the relevant authorities. First, we informed our landlord. We informed the upstairs neighbor. We spoke with the upstairs neighbor's landlord. We went to the police, we went to the district governor's office, and we made an application. We went to the prosecutor's office and had a meeting there, but our file was closed, it was deemed unnecessary. We stated that it had reached our electrical installation and mentioned the risk of fire; because we could also have a slip-and-fall incident here. My wife's and my life came under danger, but no one helped us. In the end, naturally, we also made a call for help through social media and news agencies."
"WE BECAME UNABLE TO USE THE HOUSE BECAUSE HE CANNOT USE THE BATHROOM" Karakaş said, "Actually, he initially allowed it, but later when people came to repair and detect the installation, he kicked them out. The reason for this is that he does not allow renovations in his home. His family uses the bathroom here, he cannot use it, but because he cannot use it, we have become unable to use the house. All our rooms were ruined, and my wife was greatly affected by this situation. We got sick due to moisture, and we became unable to live here. The fact that no one helped also saddened us further. Our upstairs neighbor said they would enter urban transformation and did not want to have it done; but the paperwork for this place had not yet been issued, the core samples had just been taken. Legally, the state grants a 3-month residence period, and the risky building report for this place has not even been issued yet. Currently, they are only in agreement with contractors, but this should never mean that we will live under such risk. We also need to live like normal people and have shelter in healthy conditions."
"WE ARE TRYING TO PROTECT OUR BELONGINGS SOMEHOW" Karakaş stated, "It has been increasing since May 2, and in the last 2 days, there has been an even higher leak. Probably, if there is a pipe burst, the un-repaired area has grown, so the leak has increased gradually. It has reached everywhere, including all doors and the bedroom. We are now trying to dismantle and protect the belongings in the house because everything is very expensive, hard to buy, purchasing power is low, and we don't know what to do, so we are trying to protect our belongings somehow. Due to the water leak that has been increasing since May 2, we are frankly fighting for survival with water inside the house. We have been suffering for 3 months due to the water leak inside our home, and this problem has not been resolved. We have been living in unhealthy conditions inside the house for the last 3 months, and every day we drain the water from the house with a squeegee and throw it outside because there is nowhere else to go. This water didn't just affect us. It also went down to the lower floor. We have one floor below us. The people there have already moved their belongings and left, and it will soon go down to the floor below that one. It also went down to the apartments on the lower floor. The floor just below us was also in bad condition, but the people there took their belongings and left. We probably can't reach them now either," he said.
"THE LANDLORD ALSO COULDN'T GET THE DOOR OPENED; THEY DIDN'T ALLOW REPAIRS" Karakaş said, "The landlord didn't talk to anyone. He also couldn't get the door opened by the person upstairs. No matter how much they tried to contact our upstairs neighbor who is a tenant, they never responded, never gave positive feedback, and never allowed repairs. Therefore, our suffering continued constantly. The landlord also had a meeting. They are currently in Ankara and stated that their tenant did not permit it. At first, the landlord said he himself didn't give permission. Later, in our meetings, all these WhatsApp messages and other voice recordings are available. Even though he allowed it, our upstairs neighbor did not agree to any renovation. The landlord of our upstairs neighbor also took them to court. Despite applying to all necessary authorities - the fire department came to the house and inspected it. They detected the water leak and issued us a document regarding the life-threatening danger and its reach to the electrical installation. But when we couldn't find any solution, we tried to make our voice heard through social media," he said.