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Cladding may not be replaced on Croydon tower block until leaseholders pay
The cladding on a private block of flats in Croydon may not be replaced until the property manager can collect enough money from leaseholder service charges, a tribunal has heard.
Leaseholders at Cityscape, two connected buildings holding 95 flats in the south London borough, are being asked to foot a £2m bill after cladding that failed the government’s fire safety tests was found wrapped around the complex. It is estimated that the total cost of the replacement will be £2m, but at least £500,000 is required to strip the cladding.
Firstport manages the development and went to a first-tier property tribunal today in an effort to make residents pay towards safety works.
An initial survey into the cost of replacing the cladding fell widely short of the eventual expected cost at £500,000, it was heard.
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Firstport hopes to claw the cash back through service charges, but at the time of the deadline for last year – the end of August 2017 – they only had the £500,000 estimate to put to residents.
This means full work to replace the cladding post-removal cannot begin until they formally levy the remaining £1.5m costs, which will happen this year.
It is also seeking to recoup the cost of hiring fire wardens to monitor the blocks full-time at £4,000 a week, so far running up bills of approximately £128,000 since 26 June 2017.
Paul Atkinson, regional director of Firstport, told the hearing: “We have no other funding options. I know we have discussed with RBS, but I wasn’t privy to that conversation – the bank wouldn’t be willing to loan it to us but they would be willing to talk to individual leaseholders.”
Amanda Gourlay, who was representing leaseholders at the hearing, said: “By getting a very sketchy estimate, Firstport has lost a year in time in being able to carry out the work.”
Mr Atkinson replied: “In the absence of any other funding options.”
Judge Angus Andrew, who was chairing the panel at the tribunal, asked: “It is an uncomfortable issue – what happens if the money doesn’t come?”
Mr Atkinson said: “It is difficult. We know we don’t have the capacity to loan as much as required.
“We were with the MP for Croydon a few weeks ago urging him to speak to a [Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government] minister, which he did.”
The weekly costs of paying for the fire watch will continue to rack up until the point where cladding is removed, the tribunal was told.
It could be possible for temporary scaffolding to be assembled in place of the cladding before a replacement is installed, the tribunal heard.
Richard Low-Foon, whose 95-year-old father Luc Low-Foon lived in the block, said his father is being treated in hospital for stress and he was trapped in a “catch-22”.
He told the hearing: “I cannot see a way out of it at this stage unless through a miracle we get some funding.
“At the moment he is staying in hospital because of all this – it got too much for him.
“I had to put him in a care home before Christmas on the understanding that I would defer payment until I sell the property, not that I am able to sell the property because of this.”
Mr Low-Foon added that he did not have the means to pay for the cladding replacement himself.
Tenants should not be forced to fund the work as it is an “enhancement” rather than repair or maintenance, he added.
“I’m personally nervous on that note because I don’t know how to pay towards the costs, especially with my father being 95.
“At the age of 95 – the property is my father’s – there is no chance of my father receiving extra funding.”
Judge Andrew said he had a “good point”, adding: “Leaving the legality to one side, everyone, including Firstport, accepts it is a really difficult situation that you and your father find yourselves in.”
Both blocks failed fire tests ordered by the government in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 71 people in June last year.
It is suspected unsafe cladding contributed to the spread of the blaze, leading to plans for similar panelling to be stripped from the Croydon development.
The tribunal has adjourned to determine the “payability and reasonableness of proposed service charges for major works”. It will reconvene in around four weeks, the judge said.
Update: at 4.22pm, 08.02.18 This story was updated to remove an incorrect reference to a bank loan.
Never Again campaign
Inside Housing has launched a campaign to improve fire safety following the Grenfell Tower fire
Never Again: campaign asks
Inside Housing is calling for immediate action to implement the learning from the Lakanal House fire, and a commitment to act – without delay – on learning from the Grenfell Tower tragedy as it becomes available.
LANDLORDS
- Take immediate action to check cladding and external panels on tower blocks and take prompt, appropriate action to remedy any problems
- Update risk assessments using an appropriate, qualified expert.
- Commit to renewing assessments annually and after major repair or cladding work is carried out
- Review and update evacuation policies and ‘stay put’ advice in light of risk assessments, and communicate clearly to residents
GOVERNMENT
- Provide urgent advice on the installation and upkeep of external insulation
- Update and clarify building regulations immediately – with a commitment to update if additional learning emerges at a later date from the Grenfell inquiry
- Fund the retrofitting of sprinkler systems in all tower blocks across the UK (except where there are specific structural reasons not to do so)
We will submit evidence from our research to the Grenfell public inquiry.
The inquiry should look at why opportunities to implement learning that could have prevented the fire were missed, in order to ensure similar opportunities are acted on in the future.
