Developer to pay fire safety costs for Croydon leaseholders

Barratt Developments has agreed to pay for the removal of dangerous cladding from a tower block in Croydon, after a tribunal ruled the residents would have to foot the multi-million pound bill.

The leaseholders living in the Citiscape development were told of the decision at a residents’ association meeting last week.

Barratt said it will cover future and backdated costs relating to employing a fire warden and the removal and replacement of unsafe cladding from the building.

Earlier this year, the plight of the leaseholders in the Citiscape block was raised by constituency MP Steve Reed, after it was revealed that residents had been asked to pay for the safety work in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.

In March, a tribunal ruled that the bill to remove and replace the cladding around the building should be met by the leaseholders, who had argued building’s management company, FirstPort, should pay to remove panels.

A spokesman for Barratt Developments said: “Following the recent ruling that the costs for necessary recladding at Citiscape will fall on the individual apartment owners, many of whom were originally Barratt customers when it was built in 2002, we have decided that we will pay for the work.

“Citiscape was built in line with all building regulations in place at the time of construction.  While we don’t own the building or have any liability for the cladding, we are committed to putting our customers first. The important thing now is ensuring that owners and residents have peace of mind.”

The announcement by Barratt Developments was welcomed by the housing secretary, Sajid Javid, who said the company had listened to the concerns of the residents, engaged with the Government and “have done the right thing”.

“Other building owners and house builders in the private sector should follow the example set by Barratt Developments to protect leaseholders from costs and begin essential fire safety works,” added Mr Javid.

“I want to see all leaseholders in this position get the peace of mind they deserve and I am keeping this under review.”

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