Developers remediating buildings are not liable to pay for interim safety measures as leaseholders foot the bill
As reported by Inside Housing, leaseholders at a Manchester development of 150 flats have been presented with a waking watch bill for over £67,000. This is in spite of the fact that the developers, Countryside Properties (Northern), are now part of the Vistry Group who have signed up to the government’s building safety remediation contract.
An investigation at Zinc Court, Radius Apartments in Prestwich, found building safety defects with the external wall system which would require a waking watch to ensure the safety of the building’s residents.
The building safety remediation contract was issued in January 2023 and once signed it required developers to “take responsibility for all necessary work to address life-critical fire-safety defects arising from the design and construction of buildings 11 metres and over in height that they developed or refurbished in England over the 30 years ending on 4 April 2022”.
However, in a statement, Vistry Group explained that “under the terms of the developer remediation contract, the developer is not responsible for costs relating to interim fire safety measures such as waking watch.”
In April 2024, Vistry met with representatives from End Our Cladding Scandal (EOCS), whose report showed that, at that time, the group had one of the largest programmes in the industry, with 327 buildings found to be requiring fire safety remediation works. Vistry told EOCS that it expected over 60% of its remediation spend would relate to buildings developed by Countryside.
The developers went on to explain, however, that in the case of Zinc Court, “although Vistry/Countryside are not responsible, we have agreed to fund the installation of [interim alarms] which will negate the ongoing need for waking watch. Monies were paid and installation commenced recently.”
“We have liaised with MHCLG [Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government] on this issue and they are satisfied with our input of funding.”
Leaseholders however are not happy at being made to pay this additional charge, with one telling Inside Housing, “Initial costs of the waking watch accounted for around £200 a month per flat, on top of a service charge that has recently increased to almost £3,000 a year.
“It’s totally unsustainable in relation to the cost of flats in the building and so many leaseholders are looking at severe financial hardship due to these rising costs.”
The government, however, insists that the costs relating to waking watches should not be passed on to leaseholders, and in April 2025 extended its Waking Watch Replacement Fund to help move away from waking watches towards more reliable and automated detection and alarm systems.