Grenfell Tower: Residents of private flats face £500,000 bill to replace flammable cladding, hears tribunal

Son of 95-year-old leaseholder faced with vast bill, says father being treated for stress in hospital

The privately owned block is fitted with ACM cladding panels – the same as Grenfell Tower (Google)

Cladding similar to that used on Grenfell Tower will only be removed from another south London block of flats if residents pay up to £500,000 or the Government provides funding, a tribunal has heard.

Leaseholders of the Citiscape block in Croydon were handed a combined £2m bill to replace the aluminium composite material (ACM) panels last month – the same type as those believed to have aided the spread of the fire in north Kensington, which claimed the lives of 71 people in June.

​Management company First Port has gone to a first-tier property tribunal in an effort to make residents pay.

It is estimated that the total cost to replace the cladding will be £2m, and at least £500,000 is required to strip it from the flats.

One of the leaseholders, a 95-year-old man, is being treated in hospital due to stress, his son told the tribunal.

Richard Low-Foon, whose elderly father Luc lived in the block, said he was trapped in a “catch 22”.

He told the hearing: “I cannot see a way out of it at this stage unless through a miracle we get some funding. At the moment he is staying in hospital because of all this – it got too much for him.

“I had to put him in a care home before Christmas on the understanding that I would defer payment until I sell the property, not that I am able to sell the property because of this.”

The management firm suggested it was denied a loan by the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), which said it would only deal with individual leaseholders.

FirstPort is also seeking to recoup the cost of hiring fire wardens to monitor the blocks full time at £4,000 a week – so far running up bills of approximately £128,000 since 26 June 2017.

FirstPort regional director Paul Atkinson told the hearing: “We have no other funding options.”

He added: “I know we have discussed with RBS – but I wasn’t privy to that conversation – the bank wouldn’t be willing to loan it to us but they would be willing to talk to individual leaseholders.”

FirstPort subsequently contacted The Independent to deny it had sought funding from RBS, saying in a statement: “FirstPort has not applied for or been refused a loan by RBS. We have had many conversations, including with our bank, to understand how best to advise and provide options for residents at Citiscape.”

FirstPort originally told leaseholders they would owe £500,000 in service charges, later quadrupling the estimate to £2m. But at the time of the deadline for last year’s service charges – September 2017 – they had only put the £500,000 estimate to residents.

This means full work to replace the cladding post-removal cannot begin until they formally levy the remaining £1.5m costs, which will happen this year.

“By getting a very sketchy estimate, FirstPort has lost a year in being able to carry out the work,” Amanda Gourlay, representing leaseholders, said.

Judge Angus Andrew, who is chairing the panel at the tribunal, said it was “an uncomfortable issue” and asked: “What happens if the money doesn’t come?”

Mr Atkinson replied: “It is difficult. We know we don’t have the capacity to loan as much as required. We were with the MP for Croydon a few weeks ago urging him to speak to a [Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government] minister, which he did.”

Leaseholders had feared any ruling at the Citiscape tribunal could set a precedent for other private blocks across the country.

But Mr Andrew stressed the decision should not be interpreted as such, saying in his opening remarks: “Any decision we come to cannot be read across to another block of flats. It doesn’t set a precedent.”

A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesman said: “As ministers have made clear, we want to see private sector landlords follow the lead of the social sector and not pass on the costs of essential cladding replacement to leaseholders.

“The Government is not in a position to comment on individual legal cases. We are keeping the situation under review.”

The tribunal continues.

Additional reporting by agencies