First Building Safety Act Remediation Order- Harris Associates Contributes to Groundbreaking Legal Case
Published: 08/01/2024
Harris Associates has played a part in a first-of-its-kind legal case where leaseholders have successfully obtained the first remediation order from a First Tier Tribunal under the Building Safety Act (BSA) 2022.
Thanks to evidence provided by Harris Associates, a group of leaseholders from 2-4 Leigham Court Road in London have successfully obtained a remediation order against their landlord for defective external cladding and other safety issues.
Section 123 of the BSA 2022 allows for leaseholders to make remediation orders via a First Tier Tribunal, requiring landlords to remedy defects in the building, provided they are ‘relevant defects’ in a ‘relevant building’.
The Building
The building on Leigham Court Road was converted into 35 flats with a commercial unit from 2015 to 2016. The conversion work included the addition of two storeys and a roof terrace to the building, with the construction of a seven-storey block and roof terrace behind it.
Following the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017, concerns were raised over the external wall systems– specifically the aluminium cladding on the upper storeys and internal compartmentalisation.
Between October 2019 and June 2021, the landlord obtained three reports from various companies to identify building safety defects. These were found to be either incompetent or inconclusive and were unable to determine if the cladding met the current standards of fire performance and no remedial measures were taken.
Harris Associates Provides Clarity
As previous reports had proved inconclusive, Harris Associates was approached to provide investigative surveys for the external wall of the building to identify the wall components. Between April and September 2022, we undertook several intrusive surveys which included two height verification reports, increasing the height of the building (which clarified that the building should be classed as a High-Rise building).
Our External Facade Review, Fire Risk Appraisal of an External Wall (FRAEW) and EWS1 confirmed for the first time that the cladding on the two upper floors consisted of highly combustible Aluminium Composite Material (ACM) as opposed to single skin aluminium cladding that was incorrectly identified previously. This resulted in the risk rating being changed to “high” which meant that the cladding was unsafe and should be removed and replaced with a suitable alternative system. We also advised that the combustible rigid foam Kingspan K15 insulation should be removed and replaced as part of the remediation scheme. In addition, our investigation also revealed that cavity barrier provisions were not provided where expected at key compartment junctions.
These findings along with the revised height measurements also now meant that the building met the required criteria to apply for funding to the Building Safety Fund for the remediation of unsafe cladding.
The Claim (Waite & others v Kedai Ltd)
In September 2022, the leaseholders issued an application for a remediation order against the landlord, identifying six defects in their claim. These included faults with aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding panels, fibre cement cladding panels, Kingspan Kooltherm K15 insulation and inadequate cavity barriers, fire stopping and internal compartmentation, among other defects and other claims falling outside the remit of Section 123 of the BSA.
The Tribunal
Following a three-day hearing, the First-tier Tribunal decided that the blocks, landlord and defects were all ‘relevant’ and posed a building safety risk so granted the leaseholders a remediation order against the landlord, requiring it to complete the remediation by 19th September 2025.
The Tribunal also ordered that 80% of the costs could not be passed on to non-qualifying leaseholders via the service charge.
The tribunal did not make an order for other claims raised by the leaseholders, as they fell outside the remit of Section 123.
This case is the first decision on remediation orders and although it does not create a binding precedent, it indicates that the tribunal is prepared to exercise a high degree of flexibility in its interpretation of the BSA’s provisions.
Read the full decision here Waite & others v Kedai Ltd
Harris Associates can offer a bespoke solution to enable you to comply with the latest legislation. We are experts in statutory compliance and fire safety-related matters with experienced and qualified technicians, surveyors, engineers, and project managers. We have national coverage and can help with all aspects of façade remediation from FRAEWs through to the coordination and delivery of complex façade remediation contracts.
For more information on our services, assistance, or advice on these latest developments or any related fire safety or regulatory matter please contact Shaun Harris, Tamer Duman, or Nicola Goule via phone or email shaun@harrisassociatesuk.com, tamer@harrisassociatesuk.com or nicola@harrisassociatesuk.com call 0203 195 0857, 0161 615 3679 or 0121 213 6307.
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