Government secures remediation order against freeholder in first use of Building Safety Act powers

The First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) has issued a remediation order requiring a freeholder to resolve building safety issues with a 16-storey tower block in Stevenage.

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) said this was the first legal action the Government had brought under powers introduced through the Building Safety Act (BSA).

Responding to the FTT ruling, the freeholder, Grey GR (“Grey”), which is ultimately owned by Railpen, a scheme that manages £34bn in assets, noted that the Tribunal had not issued a fault-based order. It also accused DLUHC of “moving the goalposts” in relation to remediation.

The Department launched legal action against Grey in October 2022 following delays in fixing multiple serious fire safety issues, first identified in the building in 2019.

The FTT said: “[T]he tribunal…. agrees with the Applicant [the Secretary of State] that the whole focus of the BSA is on leaseholder protection. 57 of the leaseholders at Vista Tower have asked the tribunal to make a RO [remediation order] and they are not party to either the Works Contract or GFA [grant funding agreement with DLUHC and Homes England]. The works have only just started and are scheduled to last at least a further 17 months.

“In the circumstances we consider it is appropriate to make a RO but as a backstop to give reassurance; this is not a fault-based order or a case where an order should set short deadlines and expect active interventions to put pressure on a defaulting landlord. In this case, if a RO might get in the way of the arrangements put in place to carry out the remedial works, we would not make it.

“Accordingly, this RO must be in terms which are clear that it is subject to the Works Contract and GFA and with a clear period of grace for any extensions of time agreed via those contracts. Applications to the tribunal may only be made after the date for practical completion. That underlines the novel nature of this remedy and the practical approach of the tribunal.”

Levelling Up Secretary Michael Gove said “Leaseholders have lived with uncertainty for far too long while Grey GR delayed essential works to make homes safe. This decision is a victory for leaseholders in Vista Tower and across the country.”

Gove added that the case “should serve as a warning” to all building owners that failing to fix unsafe buildings, and ensure the safety of residents, would result in similar court cases.

A spokesperson for Grey insisted that the safety of residents “has been and remains Grey's utmost priority”.

They said: “We have always been fully committed to remediating the buildings for which we are responsible, including Vista Tower, where we have made considerable progress remediating. By its own admission during the final hearing, the Department of Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC) accepted that Grey was committed to remediating Vista Tower. 

"While we are satisfied with the Tribunal's judgment to issue a Remediation Order solely to provide an additional ‘backstop to give reassurance’ to leaseholders, it is important to note the Tribunal's determination that this is ‘not a fault-based order’, nor that the terms of the Order will change the timeline for delivery of the agreed remediation. Indeed, the order is based solely on the plans already submitted by Grey and that are already in progress.”

The spokesperson also highlighted the Tribunal’s finding that criticism of delays caused by Grey's application for Building Safety Fund funding was ‘misplaced’.

They added: “Contrary to DLUHC’s statement, internal works throughout the building were completed in 2023, and the extensive remedial work to the external façade began early this year.  We remain optimistic that we will finish all works by our provisional completion date of Autumn 2025, and the court acknowledged that the remediation order has no bearing on our ability to speed up the process.

"As detailed during the hearing, we have faced numerous delays during the remediation process in our attempts to seek the clarity needed from DLUHC to proceed at pace with remediation. We have engaged extensively with the Government throughout where it has been possible to do so, but have been met with slow – and in some cases no – responses to our enquiries, constantly changing deadlines and requirements, and a frequent moving of goalposts.”

The spokesperson said: "Following the decision, we hope we can move forward and continue to be a part of the solution to an issue that was not of our making and provide leaseholders with safer homes."

DLUHC said it is also seeking remediation orders on a further five Grey buildings that have or will be going to trial over the next year.

Harry Rodd