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n November last year, model Desi Wulandari fell nine stories from her apartment unit in Kalibata City, South Jakarta, at around midnight, shocking residents who were left scrambling to help the 19-year-old without any assistance or guidance from the building’s management.

There were no emergency services and no one called for an ambulance. Finally, residents hailed a taxi and rushed Desi to the nearest hospital. Sadly, she died on the way.

Wenwen Zi, one of Desi’s neighbors and a member of the Kalibata City Residents Community (KWKC), was outraged that the apartment complex — which comprises 18 towers and 13,000 units, and is home to thousands of people — had failed to provide emergency services.

“It is always highly confusing when a resident dies or a unit catches fire because of the management’s lack of attention,” Wenwen said.

Kalibata City was built in 2008 and became a pioneer in apartment projects that were commercially marketed to the capital’s middle class.

At that time, vertical living was far more common among Jakarta’s upper class, offering premium facilities and high rental fees. Meanwhile, low-income families customarily occupied low-cost apartment buildings owned by the city administration.

The high demand from white collar workers who were tired of long commutes clogged with traffic jams to their homes in the outskirts of Jakarta — reliable train services were non-existent at that time — pushed them to rent rooms in boarding houses for temporary stays in the weekdays, before returning home for the weekends.

Since then, Kalibata City and other similar apartment buildings have offered an alternative living space: small units at affordable prices. But along with their popularity, complaints have also increased as residents face problem after problem stemming from mismanagement .

At Kalibata City, residents frequently lodge complaints to the apartment complex’s management, which includes developing giant Agung Podomoro Land’s (APL) subsidiary companies — PT Pradani Sukses Abadi, PT Prima Buana Internusa — and the Kalibata City Management Body, a tenants and owners association (P3SRS) that was formed by the developer without representatives from the tenants.

Until now, residents refuse to acknowledge the management, which they accuse of only working for the interest of the developer by arbitrarily raising management fees and neglecting their needs.

Residents’ complaints range from the developer’s reluctance to hand over apartment ownership certificates, to poor services despite the annual rise in maintenance fees.

For instance, Wenwen said that the waste management system in one tower was not working, causing dirty water to overflow units. Others have protested about broken elevators and damaged roads.

Umi Hanik, another resident, said management failed to provide a transparent report on its income and expenditures, including maintenance costs.

“It also failed to maintain security, hence making it a hotbed for prostitution, drugs distribution and illegal migrants,” she said.

Thirteen residents have filed a lawsuit with South Jakarta District Court against the management for allegedly marking up electricity and water fees. They claimed the fees were higher than what had been regulated by state electricity company PLN.