Liepāja residents leave homes during daytime roof repairs

Residents of an apartment building in Liepāja have had to leave their homes during the day while workers repair a roof deemed unsafe, returning in the evenings. Latvian public broadcaster LSM reported that the arrangement was intended to avoid a prolonged relocation.

A 2024 technical inspection found that the roof panels were in a pre-emergency condition. Liepāja’s construction authority had opened an administrative case over the building’s condition and issued warnings, but progress was held up by funding problems, authority head Baiba Mazrima said.

Some apartment owners agreed to pay for repairs costing almost 90,000 euros. Slightly more than half of the residents supported the work, Mazrima said, adding that the authority had to intervene when owners did not act to maintain the building.

For four working days, stairwells were closed from 8am to 6pm. Residents were notified weeks in advance if their apartments were beneath panels being removed. Representatives of the building manager and Liepāja municipal police checked the apartments to see whether people had left. No one could be forcibly removed, and anyone who chose to stay did so at their own responsibility.

The repairs are continuing, but the replacement of the roof panels has been completed.