I am trapped in a shared-ownership flat, which is proving impossible to sell because the fire safety engineer who surveyed the block is accused of forging fire safety certificates required by mortgage lenders. I own 45% of my home and pay rent on the remaining 55% to Metropolitan Thames Valley Housing (MTVH). The building has a valid fire risk certificate signed by Adam Kiziak of Tri Fire, but because he was later suspended pending investigation, lenders of prospective buyers view my flat as risky. MTVH is unable to give a timeline of when this will all be sorted out, yet is happy to raise rents while I am stuck. Moreover, it waited three months to inform us, during which time my flat was pointlessly on sale. This is my first home, but it’s beginning to seem like a prison.
ZV, Stevenage
Problems surrounding fire safety certificates have trapped hundreds of people in unsaleable flats, but yours is a particularly unpleasant situation. It was the tragedy of the Grenfell Tower fire that prompted the requirement for all residential blocks over 18 metres to be surveyed for, among other things, flammable cladding. Risky construction materials and a shortage of fire safety engineers have prevented many buildings from being issued with crucial certificates known as EWS1s. Without these, lenders won’t lend.
An unknown number of residents are now paying the price of alleged malpractice by Adam Kiziak, whose firm, Tri Fire, has signed off hundreds of buildings since 2020. He was suspended from the Institution of Fire Engineers last November after allegations of unethical conduct and incompetence. The allegations were upheld after an investigation, and he has since been expelled after allegedly forging signatures on EWS1s during the suspension. He denies all wrongdoing. Your EWS1 was issued in 2020, but some lenders have since withdrawn mortgage offers on properties surveyed by Tri Fire.
MTVH confirmed it knew of the problem three months before residents were informed and said it had immediately asked your freeholder, Land Charter Homes, to commission a new fire safety assessment. This was agreed and announced shortly after you wrote to me. Land Charter Homes directed me to its managing agent, Six Hills Management Ltd, which said it had spent the intervening months seeking confirmation your building’s EWS1 was legitimate before informing residents of the situation. Because of residents in your predicament, it undertook a new survey last month. This has just been completed and the final report is due imminently. In the meantime you have lost a buyer. Hopefully, armed with the new paperwork, you can start to move on by summer.
