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Residents of a multistorey development in London have received £550,000 in compensation from a housing association for cladding defects in a case they hope will set a precedent for other claims.
Notting Hill Genesis (NHG) and the contractor United Living have also completed large-scale works at their own cost to remedy the buildings in the Exchange development in Bermondsey, south London.
After the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 it emerged that thousands of buildings had similar combustible cladding and other fire risks.
The Exchange development, consisting of five multistorey residential and mixed-use buildings, and constructed for NHG by United Living, had widespread fire safety defects, including aluminium composite material (ACM), combustible insulation and inadequate cavity barriers.
In 2020, residents began a legal case to ensure the work was carried out to make the buildings safe and that they would not have to foot the bill.
Kyle Taylor, 40, who works in civil society, said he and other Exchange residents had been shocked when they heard people in a nearby building had received bills of up to £40,000 for similar remedial works.
“It has been stressful,” he said. “We’re a mixed community so we have social tenants, private tenants, and first-time buyers through shared ownership. We’re a building of teachers and nurses, key workers and young professionals. I know for myself and for a number of people those bills would not have been payable.
“We are pleased that NHG and United Living have at last done the right thing, but disappointed it took so long. We bought our homes in good faith and were devastated to discover they were not safe because of cost-cutting construction.
“We have had to live in unsafe homes for many years and are relieved that we can now start putting this behind us.”
Taylor, who has lived in the development since it was completed in 2014, and has at times spent 40 hours a week on admin connected to the case, said he was pleased the terms of the settlement were not confidential.
“It was really important for me, from the perspective of public interest, that we could be an example for people that it is possible to win on the basis of truth and reality and what’s correct and just, but also to inspire some [other] people to go for it.”
The compensation will go to 76 leaseholders and independent freeholders and the terms of the settlement mean that none of the works or legal costs can be passed on to any future leaseholders or residents.
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The residents had sought compensation for costs, including court and expert fees, having to live in unsafe homes and inconvenience caused by the building works.
Christian Hansen, of Bindmans, who acted for the claimants on a no-win no-fee basis, said: “What we’ve seen is that a lot of constructors are basically dragging their feet, they’re not keen to do as many works as they should and they’re fighting these cases. I can only hope that settlements like this will be a bit of a wake-up call to them that actually they should be settling these things sooner than they are.”
An NHG spokesperson said: “We are pleased to have reached a resolution on this case, having overseen the required building safety work at the Exchange.
“Our duty is to ensure the safety of our buildings and residents and this is always our top priority. Our publicly stated policy is that we do not recharge leaseholders for the costs of remediation work to external walls or balconies where they have been deemed to pose a risk of spreading fire.”
United Living was also approached for comment.
