Author Topic: Manchester high-rise leaseholders must pay for cladding removal, £10k each  (Read 2866 times)

celeste

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https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-manchester-44979212

Leaseholders in two high-rise blocks with dangerous cladding must pay more than £10,000 each for its removal, a tribunal has ruled.

Freeholder Pemberstone had argued it should not fund the work at Cypress Place and Vallea Court in Manchester.

Sitting in the city, Judge Wood said the leaseholders' objections may have "merit", but did not "alter or affect" the firm's right to recover the costs.

Leaseholder Amy Wright said the company should consider "what's morally right".

The decision to remove the cladding from the blocks came as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017.




The blocks' leaseholders have also been told they must each pay a share of the legal costs for the tribunal, on top of the £10,000 removal fee.

Pemberstone said it had taken the case to tribunal because while it could "in theory" have tried to seek agreement with leaseholders, it would have been "exceptionally difficult" to reach a unanimous agreement, as about 75% of them did not live in the blocks and some were based abroad.

'Kick in the teeth'

Ms Wright, who lives in Cypress Place, said the outcome had not been "totally unexpected", but it still felt like "a kick in the teeth".

"I'd like them to look beyond what's legally written and see what's morally right," she said.

She said she did not know how she would pay and was particularly concerned about the additional legal fees.

"We crowdfunded to respond to their claim - we had no barrister, we represented ourselves [at the tribunal]," she said.

"If we couldn't pay for ours, how can we pay for theirs?"
All that's necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing

celeste

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I don't agree, it wasn't made safe in the first place so the responsibility is not with the leaseholders.
All that's necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing

Corrupt council

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75 percent don't live in the block ?



ROY.

lozflan

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Property investers?. What a nightmare to live with. Having a home should be a joy.
Politicians and nappies must be changed often,and for the same reason

Corrupt council

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It's got out of hand the property investment market . Forcing prices up, making property to high to buy .


My personal one I truly dislike is shared ownership.
That truly [censored] me off. Mortgage and rent .
Plus Lees and if you live in a flat council tax and ground rent plus maintenance
 .


Thank you foreign investors for destroying the city I love as I truly hope you got busy and pay your ten k to get them flats fixed .



ROY.

celeste

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The management fees are what I would resent paying as they can keep putting them up whenever they feel like it, 'holding people to ransom'
All that's necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing

Corrupt council

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Mangament fees for flats ? It's one I've never heard of. Please explain more.
ROY.

celeste

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This was in the 90s near me, pensioners who moved into sheltered accommodation paying (then) around £400 per month also had to pay for the landscaped gardens and maintenance around the building.
All that's necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing

Corrupt council

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Utter Madness
ROY.

Parky

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Utter madness and greed

St Chads Lad

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I'm a little confused, the land around the flats has to be tidy and the stairways and possibly lifts need servicing and the money has to be generated for such operations, I'm just asking that's all.

celeste

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It's just that they can put the charges up to anything they want, and a lot of pensioners on fixed incomes can be priced out.

 Not sure if they are regulated nowadays :-\
All that's necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing

St Chads Lad

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Ah yes, I now see what you mean now, thanks.  :)

lozflan

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It is the norm in private owned flats and if there is a live in manager/caretaker, that cost will be in the monthly fee.
Politicians and nappies must be changed often,and for the same reason

celeste

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Leaseholders in two high-rise blocks have spoken of their relief that they will not have to pay £10,000 each to replace dangerous cladding.

Freeholder Pemberstone has announced a fund has been set up to pay for the work at Cypress Place and Vallea Court in Manchester.

Leaseholder Beverley Reynolds-Logue said: "I'm absolutely delighted. I don't' know whether to laugh or cry."

A tribunal ruled in July each resident had to pay £10,000 to replace cladding.

"It's been a really long, hard slog. I think I want to cry more than anything. It's just been a massive burden lifted," Ms Reynolds-Logue, who lives in Vallea Court, said.




"I would never want anyone else to go through what we have gone through," she added.

'Life on hold'

Fellow leaseholder Mike Hayes, who bought his flat in neighbouring Cypress Place five-and-a-half-years ago, said: "I'm delighted - my life has been on hold."

"I couldn't even sell it - the flat had become worthless," he added.

The decision to remove the cladding from the blocks came as a result of the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017.

A tribunal ruled in July the leaseholders had to pay a £10,000 removal fee.

However, the cost is now going to be met by a fund set up between Pemberstone, which owns the freehold to the flats, and developers Lendlease.

A Pemberstone spokesman said: "We have been in dialogue with various interested parties for some time to arrive at a solution for the replacement of the cladding as quickly as possible without residents having to pay.

"We are pleased that this process has now resulted in a positive outcome and a satisfactory way forward."

The government had previously urged landlords and freeholders to not pass costs of removal work on to leaseholders.
All that's necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing