Being made to pay for making safe roof extension they opposed
Millbrooke Court with the extra flats built on the roof space
Residents of an art deco mansion block in Putney say they are being made to pay for recladding despite it being of an extension to the building they opposed.
The Millbrooke Court Residents’ Association has written to Michael Gove, whose ministerial responsibilities include housing, claiming that the landlord of the building is exploiting legal loopholes to shift the cost of removing dangerous cladding onto them.
The letter was written as the government considers aa new leasehold reform Bill and additional legislation relating to combustible cladding as the consequences of the Grenfell Tower fire continue to play out.
Millbrooke Court is a 1930s Art deco mansion block originally consisting of 66 residential flats with commercial premises on the ground floor.
In 2013 the landlord built 7 additional flats on the roof of the building despite objections from the existing leaseholders. All but one of the new apartments have been sold at prices above £3. million which the residents’ association believes will have yielded substantial profits for the developer and the landlord.
The letter signed by Brendan E. Molloy on behalf of the association says to Michael Gove, “We are also aware that you have expressed the view Leaseholders should not be saddled with the costs of rectifying problems (e.g. the removal of combustible cladding) created by developers. Obviously it is the
Developers who benefit from new developments so it is equally obvious those same developers should pay to fix issues associated with said development. Sadly this is not the case for leaseholders in Millbrooke Court who have already been forced to pay well over £100,000 to repair leaks caused by a developer’s sloppy workmanship and are potentially faced with a bill of over £1 million to replace non fire retardant cladding.”
If the replacement of the cladding is deemed to be legitimately added to the service charge the landlord will also be able to obtain taxpayer funding to cover part of the cost.
The letter concludes, “We believe that loopholes in existing legislation have enabled the landlord to act in this way. We, therefore humbly request that the government use the opportunity of the forthcoming legislation to close these loopholes.”
The landlord’s managing agent was asked for comment.
Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site. |
January 7, 2022