The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has won
a landmark legal challenge against freeholder Grey GR forcing it
to fix serious building safety issues in Vista Tower in
Stevenage.
Legal action was launched by the Government against Grey GR in
October 2022 following unacceptable delays in fixing multiple
serious fire safety issues, first identified in the building in
2019.
Grey GR is ultimately owned by Railpen, a scheme that manages
£34bn in assets.
Following the trial in March, the Court has decided in favour of
the Government and will issue a Remediation Order imposing a
legally binding requirement on Grey GR to fix building safety
issues within a mandated timeframe.
Levelling Up Secretary 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.
It is hugely disappointing that Railpen - the ultimate owner of
Grey GR and who manage £34bn in ‘assets' - has kept leaseholders
in limbo in this way. Railway workers with their pensions
invested in this fund, as well as innocent leaseholders, deserve
better.
This court case should serve as a warning to all building owners.
If you fail to fix your unsafe buildings and ensure the safety of
residents, we will see you in court. We will not stop until we
secure justice for leaseholders.
Sophie Bichener, leaseholder in Vista Tower
said:
I am very pleased to see this remediation order has been made.
This gives leaseholders the reassurance we deserve and is the
closest we have been to regaining our freedom after what has been
an extremely difficult few years.
We thank the Secretary of State for bringing this remediation
order – it will have a huge impact on our lives and we hope our
involvement in this case will bring hope to many others who are
waiting for their freeholders to do the right thing and make
their homes a safe place to live too.
The Vista Tower case was the first legal action brought by the
Government under robust new powers introduced through the
Building Safety Act 2022.
Following commencement of legal action, Grey started work on
Vista Tower in January 2024. The Remediation Order will provide
an exact date by which the work must be completed or Grey could
face sanction by the Court.
The Government is also seeking remediation orders on a further
five Grey GR buildings that have or will be going to trial over
the next year. This includes The Chocolate Box in Bournemouth
where, as a result of government legal action, Grey has now
started remediation works.
The Government has also already secured four remediation orders
against freeholder Wallace Estates, benefitting approximately 400
leaseholders that had faced delays to remediation.
Councils, fire and rescue services and the Building Safety
Regulator all have powers under the Building Safety Act to take
enforcement action against building owners not complying with
their obligations and discharging their responsibilities to
leaseholders.
