March 2026 update
Last Updated on Monday, 6 April 2026 04:39 Written by Steve Dent Monday, 6 April 2026 04:39
The Heights
March 2026 update
Presidents comments.
I was hopping to update you on the response to the VV letters that were sent to some owners, who we identified as being used for illegal holiday lets, unfortunately Viktoria from Universal Properties was involved in a car accident, and has been off work for the last 3 weeks. As soon as she returns, we will let you know what happened.
Complex news/ issues/updates.
We had power cuts on the 3/3/26 at 7.30am, and again on the 16/3/26 both lasted about 10 minutes, it also affected surrounding complex’s.
We had a problem with the button to exit the complex, rather than use the blue chip to open the gate, someone decided to to use the emergency key to open the big sliding gate for vehicles, they let it slide freely and it hit the stop and came off its rails, this gate is very heavy, and could cause serious injury if it hit someone. We are now going to weld some plates on to the gate to prevent it happening again.
We had a report of rats on the waste ground just by the entrance ramp to the garage, its important that the garage door is not left open by covering the sensor, and that we do not leave any rubbish in walkways. Etc.
We had a problem with our home IPTV, it was buffering every 20 seconds continuously, I tried rebooting it a few times, but no change, so we disconnected all the connectors and gave them a clean, put it all back together, and it worked really well, I think you can get a bit of oxidisation on the terminals due to some damp weather periods.
One of our committee members asked a renter to remove 2 washing lines and washing from the rear terrace of A 3, he refused, tore up the complex rules and was very abusive, I had previously asked him to remove some washing months ago. The apartment is owned by a property company in Los Cristianos, we contacted them sent photos, and he took it down, this area is owned by the community and not owners, we allow people to use it, but they must follow the complex rules, or we could make them remove all items from this area.
Storm Therese, caused some water problems in storage rooms in A block garage for some owners, this was caused by water ingression from the joints on the Solarium, Nicanor has tried to locate and seal where needed.
The Swimming pool.
2 new blinds for the pool arrived and were fitted after a few attempts, the area looks much better now.
Last month I mentioned that one of the large pool heat pumps had a problem, fortunately it was repairable with a replacement part, it was re-gassed and is running well, it cost 300 euros, but its better than 4000 euros for a new one.
One of the electronic controllers that senses and maintains the PH level in the large pool has been showing an intermittent fault, its being monitored, and might need replacing at some point.
We have had a new owner from C block cause an issue at the pool over payment for a sunbed, he has only owned here for around 6 weeks, so doesn’t remember that this was the “norm” up to the COVID period. However he is still not satisfied and continuing to cause problems, putting notices up in the lifts and on the notice boards. As a committee we make sure everything is dealt in a totally honest way, I won’t have the integrity of the team called in to question, so have passed this on to Universal Properties to deal.
Library open every Wednesday from 10am to 11am, located by the post boxes . Not open on public holidays.
If you need to contact me, please call 683 16 54 16. Please do not knock at my home address, I always have my phone with me, Thanks.
Emergency night / Disturbance.
Starts 11pm till 7am, you can call them on 671 14 66 16. If you have a problem, please call them.
The complex has been quiet, with no major problems reported. From the nightly report sheets , it seems we have not had anything reported for some weeks now, if you know different please let one of us know.
What’s happening in and around Los Cristianos.
Thanks to Colin Kirby for the info below.
April 18th and 19th, Bolero show in the Cultural Centre Los Cristianos.
July 10th, Sting ( The Police) is performing for one night only at the Anexo Palmetum in Santa Cruz.
12th June, Pope Leo X1V, will perform an open air Mass, at the Port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife.
1st to 12th April, Circus ( Circo Francia) 6.30pm start, on the waste ground opposite the crazy roundabout, one price 10 euros, visit Tomaticket.es, or call 637 167 528, or available up to 30mins before the start.
Thank you for taking the time to read this update.
Steve.
February 2026 update
Last Updated on Saturday, 7 March 2026 11:23 Written by Steve Dent Saturday, 7 March 2026 11:20
The Heights
February 2026 update
Presidents comments.
As per last months update, apartments we know that are being used as holiday lets, without a valid VV license have been sent a letter asking for the appropriate documentation, they now have 28 days to respond back to Universal Properties.
Thank you to the people who passed on information about apartments near them that are being used for holiday lets. We should have some updates to give you next month.
After reports of water leaks in some apartments, you really should consider leaving a key with a neighbour or friend, if you don´t live here full time, and make sure you have valid insurance to cover any issues that may occur.
Complex news/ issues/updates.
All 4 lifts on the complex recently underwent a compulsory 5 year inspection, unfortunately in order to bring them up to spec and to meet current/new regulations they need some updates, although the lifts are perfectly safe to use, the cost is in the region of 10,000 euros, we have agreed with Otis that the payment can be spread over a 6 month period, they are now 23 years old, the cost of a new lift car is more that 40,000 euros.
A large wooden cable drum was found dumped by the water machine, luckily there was a camera that covers that area, after going through the video footage we were able to capture the person responsible, this was sent to the owner of that apartment to deal with her tenant, who later took it to the Basuras, where it should have gone in the first place.
The other Sunday afternoon we had calls about very low water pressure on D and C blocks, B was also experiencing problems, we had problems with the float switches that control the water level in the storage tank for the whole complex, after moving the switches everything returned to normal, but we had the same issues at 10.30pm the following evening, John and I were down in the pump room trying to get the pumps running again, the problem has now been fixed by replacing a motorised control valve that supplies water to the storage tank.
You may have noticed our maintenance man has repaired and repainted the Basura doors.
An owner from B5 (Mario) went to the El Paso restaurant opposite us to speak to the manager, about the noise from the kitchen extract motor, this makes a strange sound from morning till night when the kitchen closes, they are going to get a technician to fix the issue, it’s nice to see an owner assisting the committee with complex issues.
The Swimming pool.
The 2 new replacement blinds for the pool arrived but they were the wrong colour, ( not sure how that happened !!), we are now waiting for the correct ones to come.
One of the heat pumps that controls the pool temperature, is not working 100%, the technician thinks it may need a re-gas, or compressor, if it needs replacing the cost will be around 4000 euros, fingers crossed !!!.
Library open every Wednesday from 10am to 11am, located by the post boxes . Not open on public holidays.
If you need to contact me, please call 683 16 54 16. Please do not knock at my home address, I always have my phone with me, Thanks.
Emergency night / Disturbance.
Starts 11pm till 7am, you can call them on 671 14 66 16. If you have a problem, please call them.
We now have a new night patrol man, his name is Jose Ramon, he speaks very good English. The complex has been quiet, with no major problems reported.
What’s happening in and around Los Cristianos.
With the Carnival just a few weeks away, there will be lots of entertainment in town by the Valdés Centre, the stage is already up, and the Carnival queens will be chosen for the big parade. A large fun fair has also arrived and is being set up on the waste ground by the crazy roundabout in town.
Thank you for taking the time to read this update.
Steve.
January 2026 update
Last Updated on Monday, 2 February 2026 05:00 Written by Steve Dent Monday, 2 February 2026 05:00
The Heights
January 2026 update
Presidents comments.
We have had a few comments about reinstating the charges for sunbeds….etc, however after explaining the reasons why, most accepted we needed to do something.
From a previous update, you will have read that the committee have been gathering information on apartments on the complex that are being advertised as holiday lets on .COM websites, and are not known to have a VV license, as you know this is illegal and causes many problems for resident owners. A letter has now been prepared and will be sent out to owners to give them time to respond with the necessary paper work, if they fail to comply, their details will be passed on to the relevant authorities to deal with. You have been warned !!!!!!. I would like to pass on my thanks to the committee who gave the input and wording to get this moving.
If you have a VV licence, please make sure you display it.
Can I remind you ( I know its early days yet), that if you can’t attend this years 2026 AGM in May, please pass your proxy vote to another owner or Etelina at Universal Properties, or me, and not to someone who rents a property on The Heights.
Complex news/ issues/updates.
We had a problem with the exit button for the gate in the postal area, it was giving a continuos bleep and did not lock , as it was a Saturday I did a temporary fix, and Nicanor changed the unit first thing Monday.
Previously we have had problems with B block lift, this time it was C block , a lady was stuck in the lift car on the ground floor and was very distressed, I managed to get her out, but then had a problem with Otis the lift company, accepting the fault as an emergency due to several people on the complex having mobility issues. It seems Otis did not follow the correct procedures for the problem, and the head of Otis is looking at the reason this happened, to make sure it will not happen again in the future.
Universal properties had a mail from an owner, who has had a VV licence plaque vandalised on the wall next to her front door, and wanted CCTV footage of the area, we do not have cameras that look down corridors of the apartments, so unfortunately it was not possible to comply, however we do not want vandals on our complex, this behaviour is not acceptable.
We are constantly issuing community rules to people who are renting apartments as holiday lets, they are leaving rubbish bags outside doors of the apartments or dumping them by lifts, this is due to owners not leaving our complex rules inside for their clients to view.
I was sent a video clip from a concerned resident , it was showing a huge amount of water gushing from a pipe around the side of restaurant Don Quixote, I had to call Nicanor at home as it was gone 7pm in the evening to come back to the complex, a float switch had failed to stop the water reservoir over filling, it had flooded the pump room and was emptying the water out through a drain vent, we lost a large amount of water.
The Swimming pool.
As per the earlier note we are now charging again for sunbeds….etc. at the pool, we are getting some income from the sales, but due to the poor weather not as much as we want, the next coming weeks/months should see this improve as the weather improves. This might also keep none residents out of our complex now they have to pay.
The storm we had the other week, damaged one of the pool blinds, we have had a quote to repair or renew, and it will be replaced soon.
Library open every Wednesday from 10am to 11am, located by the post boxes . Not open on public holidays.
If you need to contact me, please call 683 16 54 16. Please do not knock at my home address, I always have my phone with me, Thanks.
Emergency night / Disturbance.
Starts 11pm till 7am, you can call them on 671 14 66 16. If you have a problem, please call them.
We are having difficulty in finding a reliable replacement for Juan Louis, so he has agreed to stay on for another month, to provide cover until we do.
What’s happening in and around Los Cristianos.
With thanks to Colin Kirby for the following info.
Arona Carnival 2026, starts 7th March, this year the theme is SPACE,
The Grand Parade is on Sunday 15th starting from the Arona Grand Hotel, followed by the burial of the Sardine on Los Cristianos beach on Monday 16th.
La Laguna, 23rd May, marking the 50th anniversary of the “ Alan Parsons Project” . Front man and vocalist, he will be performing live on stage,
Tickets are available from several companies, check out prices on line.
Thank you for taking the time to read this update.
Steve.