First-Tier Tribunal decides first remediation order

On 9 August 2023, the First-Tier Tribunal (“the FTT/Tribunal”) made the first remediation order (“RO”) under the Building Safety Act 2022 (“BSA”).

The Tribunal’s decision, in the case of 2-4 Leigham Court Road, LON/00AY/HYI/2022/0005 & 0016, provides an insight into the likely approach of the FTT in other applications for ROs. In this article, we set out the key findings of the Tribunal (including what the Tribunal did and did not do) and the potential implications.

Key facts

The development

The development was the former offices of the South London Press which was converted to residential accommodation between 2015 and 2016. It comprised two buildings over 18 metres in height.

The external wall systems incorporated the usual culprits: Category 3 ACM cladding with an unmodified polyethylene core; Kingspan Kooltherm K15 insulation; limited horizontal cavity carriers, no vertical cavity barriers; no fire stopping around vents in cavities; and the use of non-fire rated vents.

There were also concerns in relation to broken cement fibre boards; ceramic tiles which required re-fixing; and the fire safety of balconies.

Internally, there were compartmentation issues. These were set out in a survey report commissioned by the landlord in March 2023.

The Tribunal decided that the majority (but not all) of these issues constituted “relevant defects” for the purposes of the BSA.

The parties

This application for a RO was brought by a group of leaseholders (“the Applicants”) against the landlord and freeholder (“the Respondent”) of the development. The Respondent was also an associated company of the original developer.

When the application was initially brought, the parent company of the building contractor was additionally named as the second respondent. However, that party was subsequently removed from the proceedings on grounds that it was not a “relevant landlord”.

In September 2022, the application was initiated by one leaseholder who lived in one of the two blocks. The Tribunal invited other leaseholders of the other block to join the application – which they did in December 2022. The Tribunal also extended the invitation to the relevant local authority and the fire brigade. The local authority joined the application but played no active part in the proceedings.