Stormont ministers have vowed to bring forward relevant legislation and review rates liability rules following the dismissal of a compensation claim by residents forced to leave their Belfast city centre apartments due to structural defects.
Communities minister Gordon Lyons and finance minister Caoimhe Archibald joined the Minister for Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Andrew Muir on Tuesday to discuss issues surrounding the Victoria Square apartments.
The legal bid by residents was struck out at the High Court in Belfast as a result of legislation requiring claims to be made within six years of a property’s construction.
The block of 91 apartments was completed in 2008.
Residents were forced to vacate the apartments in 2019 after a structural defect was identified, but they have been required to continue to pay the mortgage and rates bills, along with maintenance charges.
Thirty private residents and a charity, Ulster Garden Villages, which owns 54 of the apartments had hoped to be compensated for losses arising from the defects and loss of value to their properties, in the claim against builders Farrans and Gilbert Ash, who along with the architects have denied any liability.
There have since been calls to bring the north’s legislation into line with that in England and Wales, where such compensation claims can be made up to 30 years after construction.
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In a joint statement following Tuesday’s meeting, the Stormont ministers said they were “united with the single focus of supporting the residents”.
“We are committed to working together to do what we can to help and support the residents as much as possible during what is a very distressing time,” they said.
“These are complex matters which will involve the transfer of functions and updating of legislation. However, we are committed to bringing forward legislation to address defective buildings at the earliest opportunity, pending agreement of the Executive and the Assembly.”
They added they “have agreed to work together to see if Land & Property Services can be provided with the necessary evidence to enable them to review the current and historic rates liability”.
Meanwhile, Belfast City Council has said it appointed an external structural engineer to examine any risk to pedestrians posed by the apartment block in 2019 after being alerted by the vacated residents.
A spokesperson for the council said it “fully appreciates that the issues at the Victoria Square apartments have caused immense upset and distress to those residents affected, and we empathise with their situation”.
They added that the 2019 inspection “concluded that the structural issue did not present a wider risk to pedestrians”.
“We have not received any information from the owners or management company which would suggest that further inspections by the council are required,” the spokesperson said.
“If this changes, we will of course look into this further. As this issue does not cause a danger to pedestrians, it remains a matter for those involved in the construction to resolve, along with the residents impacted.”
