Residents in Manchester are being forced to cough up £300,000 to fix the roof to their apartment block after discovering they are not insured.
Since February 19 the roof over the 24 flats in Whalley Range has lain partially collapsed thanks to storm Eunice. And now because surveyors have revealed the roof was built with an "inherent defect", it means leaseholders are unable to claim insurance and have been quoted around £290,000 to repair the damage.
The effects of the storm left two flats uninhabitable and exposed a number of others to water damage. And a tarpaulin has been covering the building for the past nine months as repairs have been delayed, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Elizabeth Winstanley bought her flat in 2018 and spent thousands renovating it. She was left homeless because her top floor residency was so badly damaged and is desperate to return home, but remains in temporary accommodation.
Two-bed apartments at the Orban property have been marketed at £150,000 to buy, and £950 a month to rent. They are managed by Firstport property management services, who have revealed they are “very sorry” for delays to the repairs, and “are working to ensure that an appropriate permanent solution is put in place as soon as possible”.
But for Elizabeth, the damage has been done. Her flat is uninhabitable, covered in mould, and still isolated from electricity – as it has been since the storm.
She has no savings left after eight months of living a “nightmare”, and said she has been left distraught by the situation.
“I’ve lost my whole apartment,” Elizabeth told the M.E.N. “I’m at a loss, I don’t know what to do.
“I can’t tell you how awful it is to not have a space of your own, and just feeling utterly powerless. This was my first home, everything I had went into it, but now, I have nothing left.”
Leaseholders have been left trying to understand how the roof’s ‘inherent defect’ could have gone unnoticed.
In an email to them, Firstport said they had been “unable to access” the roof for inspections, but did not answer when asked when the last close-up inspection of the roof had taken place.
The Manchester Evening News said it has seen documents where Thomasons, an independent construction consultancy brought in by the insurers to assess the claim, conclude: “The primary reason for the failure of the timber decking relates to the lack of ventilation within the roof structure’, which had been “ongoing for several years” and was “a result of the poor design of the roof”.
“Thomasons specifically advise that in their opinion, had the decking been in a sound condition prior to this incident, it would not have occurred,” the report reads.
Firstport said the insurance claim was not rejected due to the damage inflicted by the storm, but because of a “a pre-existing inherent defect in the roof dating from the time of construction”.
The apartments were built in 2009 by Crosby Lendlease, now known as Lendlease. They told the M.E.N they had not had involvement in the property for over a decade. Aviva, the owners, declined to comment.
Elizabeth says she is angry that permanent repairs, which fall to Firstport to organise as property managers, have not started. She revealed the impact of the situation has been draining and she is fearful for the future.
“It has affected every aspect of my life, including my personal relationships and mental health,” she said. “The anger and the frustration is constantly there – it’s probably the worst thing that could happen to you, apart from someone close to you dying.”
Giles Carbury, who owns and rents out the flat next to Elizabeth’s, said water damage began to show in his flat in early August. His tenant is currently paying £850 per month to live in a flat with spreading water ingress – and Giles said he feels Firstport are “totally out of their depth”.
“Everything has been a fight with them,” he told the M.E.N. “I’m just desperate for them to get the new roof.”
Firstport say that they are taking steps to install a waterproof polyethylene film solution to the roof, which should halt further water ingress. But Alex says he is scared of the prospect of the permanent roof repairs continuing to be delayed.
“I am sick to the back teeth of Firstport not doing what they need to do. It’s a horrendous situation,” he added.
Meanwhile, leaseholders at the flats have been asked to pay upwards of £3,000 each – a total of approximately £80,000 – to Firstport in an unexpected ‘service charge’ that the building managers say will go towards the cost of permanent roof repairs. It is understood tenants will have to pay the money upfront before the management seeks recovery of the costs through legal action.
Lendlease told the M.E.N they are not aware of any legal action. A spokesperson for Lendlease said: “We are sorry to hear of the issues facing leaseholders at Alexandra Road following storms in February.
“A member of the public contacted us earlier this year to request information regarding the original roof and design guarantees, which we’ve provided. But we’re not aware of any legal action and have not had any other enquiries.”
A spokesperson for Firstport said: “We are very sorry for the delays and we understand residents’ frustrations. The permanent roof works are complicated by the presence of an inherent defect and has required input from a number of parties.
“We are working to ensure that an appropriate permanent solution is put in place as soon as possible. Leaseholders will not be required to pay for any of the temporary repairs that have been carried out to the existing roof nor the making good of water damage within affected flats.”
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