Bexhill residents face crippling bills to remove ‘fire risk’ cladding

People living in the Landmark building on the seafront said they are also still waiting for the work to remove the cladding to be carried out.

The Observer reported in early 2021 how residents in the building, which contains 66 flats, said they were ‘living in fear’ after surveyors recommended major repairs to the complex following a safety report in November 2020.

Residents have seen their insurance costs rise, as well as bills for new safety measures increase.

Some said their flats were now worthless, leaving them unable to sell up.

Elaine Stevens said: “We the leaseholders are still waiting for the remediation work to start. Hopefully it will start this year.“Sometimes this seems like the least of our worries with spiralling service charges, especially the building insurance which is scandalous. It used to be around £45,000 per year but it’s now £248,178 per year. This is after having a new fire alarm fitted.

"People here are really struggling to pay. Not something we could foresee would be a consequence of cladding issues. The financial burden and stress of owning a flat with cladding issues seems to have been forgotten. “It is more than two years since we learnt the Landmark was caught up in this disaster and we are struggling and would like others to understand. No one truly comprehends the devastation to our lives. We are stuck, can’t sell, can’t move on with life and are running out of ways to pay.”

In a statement, Oakfield Estate Agents, managing agents for the Landmark, said: "Unfortunately, since the issue with the cladding at The Landmark became known, the cost to insure the building increased dramatically and until the cladding can be removed the premium will not decrease.

"The marketplace for policies is naturally very limited, with many insurers not willing to offer any kind of cover at all for buildings with unsafe cladding. Earlier this year, Michael Gove, then Secretary of State at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, wrote to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to ask them to review the buildings insurance market for multi-occupancy residential buildings, and the Government has been looking at options to support leaseholders who are waiting for the buildings to be remediated.

"The FCA has not yet released a report on their review, and whilst we support and welcome the introduction of the Building Safety Act, it is yet to be known how far this will benefit leaseholders in real terms, particularly in relation to crippling insurance costs which don’t appear to be included within the protections offered to the leaseholders as it stands. We hope that the extent of leaseholder protections can be fully clarified by the Government soon.

“In the meantime however we can positively report that Stage 2 of the Building Safety Fund application has been submitted with costs for all eligible works having been recommended in full. This means we are on course to get remediation work under way in 2023 which will be a welcome relief to everyone involved.”