NHBC accepts Grenfell cladding bill at Galliard’s New Capital Quay

UPDATE JULY 11: The Times reports that the NHBC caved in days after 220 leaseholders began legal proceedings to force the controversial warranty insurer to pay out.

Leaseholder Nigel Pickford, 71, who spoke at our APPG in April and who lives in a £1 million apartment on the top floor of one of the blocks, said: “This is a good first step but there is still a lot of unanswered questions about what works will be carried out. There is also a big question of who is going to make sure the work is done properly this time. Are we going to rely on NHBC as they did the building control on this last time and they don’t seem to have done a good job.”

Matthew Pennycook, Labour MP for Greenwich and Woolwich, said it was “fantastic news” but said questions about how the cladding system was approved in the first place still needed to be answered.

Sebastian O’kelly, of LKP, is quoted saying: “Acceptance of the claim by NHBC is an unanswerable precedent. You cannot build with faults and then dump the cost of rectifying them on to your customers assuming regulators have no responsibility in the issue.”

This may be noted by Australian builder Lendlease at its Manchester sites Cypress Place and Vallea Court.

He added: “Both Galliard and NHBC have waited until the last moment, hoping to dump this cost on the leaseholders. They have shown the cloven hoof of residential property insiders to ministers, MPs, civil servants and the wider public. And we don’t like what we see.”

Insurer to foot £40m bill for Grenfell-style cladding

Owners of flats covered in Grenfell-style cladding could be spared hefty costs to make their homes safe after an insurer agreed to cover a multimillion-pound repair bill. Tenants and leaseholders in the New Capital Quay complex in Greenwich, east London, have been told the cost of replacing the fl

The Guardian’s Lisa O’Carroll report is here:

Grenfell-type cladding on London flats to be replaced at insurer’s cost

Residents in London apartment blocks who faced bills of up to £40,000 each for Grenfell-type cladding to be removed have spoken of their relief after their insurer stepped in to foot the bill.

The warranty provider NHBC has accepted the claim to remove Grenfell cladding at New Capital Quay in a press statement this afternoon.

The brief statement lacks detail, and we have asked whether this claim will cover the entire cost of removing the cladding and replacing it.

In addition, we have asked whether the bill for the fire marshals at the 1,000 flat site will also be paid for by the insurer.

The break-through ends years of uncertainty for leaseholders at the site as NHBC and Galliard disputed liability, with every possibility that the bill would fall on them.

The decision also increases pressure on developers such as Lendlease to pay up to remove cladding on sites where the freehold has been sold on to speculators in ground rents.

The full NHBC statement is here:

“As the warranty insurance provider at New Capital Quay, NHBC has investigated a claim under our policy and we can confirm that we have accepted this claim.

“This has been a highly complex process and residents have understandably been concerned. We have made every effort to ensure they have been kept informed throughout the process and residents can now be assured that they will not have to bear the costs of the work.

“We are working closely with the managing agents PMML (Property Management Matters Ltd.) and Galliard Homes and we will all keep residents updated with progress.”

LKP asked: How does it affect the waking watch bill?

NHBC: Liability for the cost of fire wardens (the so called waking watch) is a matter for the freeholder and the leaseholders under their leases but NHBC is discussing this matter with the freeholder. To date we understand this cost has been paid by the freeholder.

Does it cover the total cost to remove the cladding?

A: The freeholders and managing agents are responsible for carrying out the works which will be subject to oversight by independent building control by the local authority or an Approved Inspector. This will include the replacement of the ACM cladding.

NHBC is the leading warranty and insurance provider for new homes in the UK. NHBC’s ten-year Buildmark warranty covers around 80 per cent of new homes built in the UK, having covered nearly eight million homes since it began and currently protecting around 1.5 million homes. NHBC is a non-profit distributing organisation with no shareholders.

Related posts:

New Capital Quay cladding may cost £7-10m, while NHBC sends in experts – and libel warning to BBC Leaseholders face £19m to £40m Grenfell cladding bills at Galliard Homes’ New Capital Quay Taxpayers face £85,000 loss as Homes England accepts leaseholder can pay back loan on flat blighted by Grenfell cladding Jenrick breaks cover … to visit Galliard’s New Capital Quay cladding site that was bound to be sorted out New Capital Quay leaseholders to sue Galliard over Grenfell cladding