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Leaseholders given two months to find £30,000 for cladding work
Leaseholders at a development in Manchester have been given two months to find up to around £30,000 each for cladding and repair works, with the management company pointing to Building Safety Fund rules to explain the tight deadline.
Note: since this story went to publication, Mainstay confirmed that it has re-measured Whittles Croft and found it to be taller than 18 metres, so has submitted an application for cladding remediation on this block to the Building Safety Fund. Pending a government decision on this application, the bill for Whittles Croft and Junction Works has been temporarily withdrawn. Read the full story here.
Residents in one block on the development that does not require cladding remediation are still being asked to stump up tens of thousands to allow works to go ahead as soon as possible.
Paradise Wharf, in the east of the city, is made up of three blocks – two of which need cladding remediation.
One of these blocks, Jutland House, is taller than 18m and has secured £1.5m in funding from the government through the Building Safety Fund.
The other, Whittles Croft, is shorter than 18m and so not currently eligible for government support.
On 21 May, development manager Mainstay Group, a subsidiary of FirstPort, issued a service charge payment request to the 114 leaseholders at Paradise Wharf for major works across the three blocks, including cladding remediation at Whittles Croft.
A payment request to one Whittles Croft resident, seen by Inside Housing, demanded more than £30,000, with an accompanying email stating the money must be paid by 31 July.
The email said the urgency is partly “to comply with the strict requirements of the Building Safety Fund”, with cladding remediation work needing to start by 30 September as part of the funding agreement.
As well as the cladding work, Mainstay is seeking to replace windows on all three Paradise Wharf blocks and carry out balcony works at Jutland House and Whittles Croft.
It will also carry out extensive repairs to the roof of the third block, Junction Works, following reports of water ingress in top-floor flats.
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Leases at Paradise Wharf allow the freeholder to claim service charges for works across any of the blocks, so Junction Works residents are being asked to contribute towards cladding costs despite the issue not affecting their building.
Mainstay told residents that it wants to carry out work on all three blocks simultaneously to take advantage of a £187,000 bulk discount agreed with the contractor.
It also said it wants to fix Whittles Croft’s cladding now rather than wait an estimated two years for the government’s loan scheme for blocks shorter than 18m in order to reduce the yearly insurance premium on the block, which is currently around £100,000.
The email from Mainstay warned leaseholders that any delays in payment “will delay the start of work and could jeopardise the government funding and the ability to receive the negotiated discount on the works which is based on undertaking the works in short succession”.
As required by law, Mainstay is currently consulting with leaseholders over the proposed charges, in a process set to end on 18 June.
Lee Watton, a resident of Jutland House who has been billed for £24,000, said: “Lots of leaseholders have come together and said we’re not happy.
“Our legal advice has been not to part with any money just yet and push back. So that’s where we are at the moment. No one really knows what is going to happen.”
Paradise Wharf was developed around 20 years ago by Watkin Jones, which said it has no obligation to contribute towards the cost of the works.
A spokesperson for Watkin Jones said: “We understand the difficult position in which leaseholders at the Paradise Wharf find themselves.
“Although we have no legal obligation to do so, we want to continue our constructive engagement with them and help where we can.
“We have, for example, tried to open dialogue with the building’s freeholder, who is legally responsible for remediation.”
Inside Housing has not been able to identify the current freeholder of Paradise Wharf.
Mainstay was due to meet with residents on Thursday night and said it would provide an update on Friday.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “This development’s application to the Building Safety Fund has been approved.
“Government funding does not absolve building owners of the responsibility to ensure their buildings are safe and they should meet the costs of remediation without passing them on to leaseholders.
“Only buildings which meet the criteria for the Building Safety Fund, as set out in the prospectus, are eligible for funding.”
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