Leaseholders to take legal action against multibillion-pound railway pension fund over fire defects

Carlos Vasquez, chair of the Taper Building Residential Leaseholder Association (TBRLA), said: “These are not the actions of a responsible freeholder. After more than two years of attempting to engage constructively with Railpen and its agents, our members are taking this legal action as a last resort to get what they paid for in good faith – the right to live in safe, saleable and mortgageable homes. 

“Lots of us need to be able to move on with our lives, whether that’s relocating for a new job or having a family. Despite literally hundreds of emails and dozens of virtual meetings, we remain trapped while Railpen and its agents drag their feet.”

In a filing dated 17 February, the leaseholders seek a remediation order to compel their freeholder to fix the building, one of the first such claims made under legislation introduced last year. 

James Sutherland, head of real estate disputes at Burges Salmon, the law firm, has represented TBRLA for the duration of its dealings with Railpen. He said: “It is disappointing that the freeholders have adopted a course of action that commits both parties to a costly and time-consuming legal dispute, rather than working with the leaseholders to remedy the serious safety issues with this building.”

A fire risk assessment using a new government methodology, PAS 9980, is understood to have concluded that risk at the building is “tolerable”, but only if life-safety critical work to fix the compartmentation is completed. This work has not yet been done. 

Leaseholders say Railpen has also failed to provide support for them to progress claims under their new-homes warranties, which could provide funding for the remedial works.

The news comes as residents of Cardinal Lofts, another Railpen-owned property in Ipswich, were evacuated because of fire safety concerns. 

Speaking at the National Housing Federation’s building safety conference this morning, Lee Rowley, the building safety minister, referred directly to Railpen and Grey GR, saying: “We will continue to pursue them until they do right against their residents.”

The Taper Building was completed in August 2018 by special purpose vehicle Peveril Securities Long Lane Ltd, a joint venture between Peveril Securities and Boultbee LDN. 

Peveril Securities, which made a net profit of £11.3m in 2021, is a subsidiary of Bowmer and Kirkland, the developer, and paid a total of £10m in dividends in 2021 and 2020 to its parent company. 

Bowmer and Kirkland itself made a net profit of £53.4m in 2021 and £40.9m in 2020. It has declared and paid dividends of more than £48m to members of the Bowmer and Kirkland families in the past two years.

Boultbee LDN is within the group of companies ultimately owned by Steven Boultbee Brooks, one of the UK’s richest men. 

The issues at the block came to light after investigations carried out in 2020 following a small fire in one of the flats, which led to the London Fire Brigade serving a deficiency notice. 

Tolent, a firm largely based in the North East which recently entered administration, was the contractor on the block. 

Situated in Bermondsey, south east London, 35 of the flats at the development are affordable tenures owned by Wandle, the housing association. The rest are private housing. 

Spread across two blocks, the building varies in height between four and six floors, with a maximum height of 21.5 metres.  

The action is being brought by 47 leaseholders under Section 123 of the Building Safety Act 2022. If successful, the leaseholders will be granted an order by the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) which will require Railpen to carry out the remediation works by a set deadline or face being found in contempt of court. 

They will be represented by Justin Bates of Landmark Chambers. 

A spokesperson for Grey GR said: “Grey GR, via managing agents, have been in regular contact with leaseholders in respect of the Taper Building. 

“In line with government guidance, Grey GR commissioned a PAS:9980 report via respected independent surveyors. This assessment deemed the fire safety risks within the Taper Building as ‘tolerable’ and copies of the report have been provided to leaseholders.  

“We understand leaseholders organised their own analysis of our report, however the leaseholders have only shared the output this week. Whilst specialists review its content, we are unable to comment on next steps, however we have previously advised leaseholders that we are willing to commission a third review should we identify a material need. 

“Grey GR’s priority is the safety of residents, and we act based on the advice provided to us. Whilst we look to understand what, if any, works are required, we have reserved the right to pursue a claim against the developers.”

Leaseholders told Inside Housing they had only provided the expert report to Grey GR this week because they were waiting for details from the firm, which it only provided recently. 

John Stephen, a lawyer and leaseholder at the block, said: “I think the thing that really gets to me with this is we have got a situation where you have nearly a hundred households, including people with disabilities, older people and infant children such as my six-month-old daughter, who are living in a building that has a heightened risk for fire. 

“They have known that for two years and have completely failed to deal with it.” 

Peveril Securities was contacted for comment.