In recent years, some residents of the old apartment blocks in Vilnius had to deal with falling balconies or collapsing walls. Experts stressed repeatedly that Soviet-era houses are nearing their expiry date. But if properly maintained, they could last up to 100 years, some believe.
The Vilnius City Municipality has received 3,500 complaints related to the maintenance of apartment buildings since 2020. However, complaints about their technical condition accounted for only around 5 percent of these cases.
“If residents suspect that their apartment building is unsafe to use, they can inform the municipality. In this case, a maintenance check would be carried out,” the municipality said in a comment sent to LRT.lt.
However, it noted that there are some apartment buildings in Vilnius where the load-bearing structures, such as balconies or roofs, are in critical condition.
“Such buildings are located in the Old Town, Naujamiestis, Žvėrynas, Šnipiškės, Naujininkai, and Rasos districts. The use of these buildings is allowed, provided that their structures do not endanger the health and property of the building’s inhabitants and passers-by,” the municipality said.
Proper maintenance
The apartment blocks built in Lithuania during the Soviet occupation are often considered to be not only unsightly but also outdated and unsafe. But if properly maintained, these buildings could last for many more years, according to an expert.
“A building has no expiry date if it is well maintained. The materials used for construction – concrete, metal – can last 50, 100, or more years. Often, newer buildings are in much worse condition than older ones,” said Arnoldas Šneideris, professor at the Department of Concrete Structures and Geotechnics at Vilnius TECH.
In his words, there are two characteristics of apartment buildings to bear in mind. The first one is the building structure. Now, it is obligatory to ensure that it lasts at least 50 years. In the past, this was not strictly defined, but even then, apartment blocks were built with durability in mind, according to Šneideris.
“The other thing is the interior fittings – piping, ventilation, etc. These are problematic in old apartment blocks because they wear out,” he added.
He also noted that the biggest problem with the old apartment blocks is the so-called moral depreciation, as young people look for spaces that are different from those built during the Soviet era.
“There is limited space for change. Especially in large apartment blocks, where all the structures are load-bearing – you cannot increase the spaces or tear down the walls. When residents try to do something like that, we immediately hear that the house is falling apart,” Šneideris explained.
According to him, it is the unauthorised activity by the residents that most often causes problems in the old apartment blocks. However, the renovation of such houses is necessary, and it should focus not only on the aesthetics but also on plumbing and ventilation.
“We’ve heard many times when people said, 'Look, we’ve installed new windows, and moisture and mould appeared in the house’. But it’s not a problem of the windows, it’s a problem of the building, which has insufficient ventilation because, in old apartment blocks, there are only two ventilation ducts – in the kitchen and the bathroom,” Šneideris said.
Ageing housing stock
The housing stock in Lithuanian cities is ageing, but the renovation rate is slow, according to Mindaugas Statulevičius, president of the Lithuanian Real Estate Development Organisation (LNTPA).
Vilnius alone has more than 4,000 apartment buildings, so several hundred houses would need to be renovated every year to modernise the entire housing stock in 10 years.
“Many buildings built during the Soviet era are almost 60 or 70 years old. We know from foreign countries, such as Finland, that there is a certain life cycle for buildings. The building, the engineering systems, the heating systems, the roofing, etc. last for about 50 or 60 years,” Statulevičius said.
“Then, decisions must be made. Maybe that building needs to be demolished and rebuilt in whole or in part. In Lithuania, of course, it’s difficult to talk about this because the Constitution protects property, and people don’t want to talk about the demolition of buildings,” he said.
But while the renovation is moving at such a slow pace, politicians must make decisions on how to manage Lithuania’s housing stock, Statulevičius said. Otherwise, disasters such as falling balconies or collapsing walls could happen again.
"Every building should have a safety officer who goes through the whole building in detail, assesses the critical points – balconies, roof, basement, engineering systems, heating systems – and then makes a decision,” he stressed. “All houses have funds and plans for how to use those funds. This is not only about people’s safety and comfort but also about the value of their property.”
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