Government ultimatum for developers to fix safety defects at midrise residential developments - 6 March 2023
At the end of January Michael Gove gave developers a six week ultimatum to sign up to a remediation contract to fix midrise residential blocks with cladding and/or fire safety problems. With this deadline fast approaching, Tom Douglas and Gemma Irving consider what the contract requires developers to do and the consequences if developers fail to sign.
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The Building Safety Act - an upset to the concept of “developer release”? - 30 January 2023
The Building Safety Act 2022 has introduced broader liabilities upon developers with the aim of ensuring building safety. However, what does this mean for developers, including SPVs, who thought that their liabilities were released once they sold on their development? How does this affect historic claims and, most importantly, what steps can developers take to mitigate against the risk of future claims?
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Are Remediation Orders and Remediation Contribution Orders storing up trouble for the TCC?
In this article we consider how Remediation Orders and Remediation Contribution Orders heard in the First Tier Tribunal will ultimately affect proceedings in the TCC.
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In this article we consider how Remediation Orders and Remediation Contribution Orders heard in the First Tier Tribunal will ultimately affect proceedings in the TCC.In this article we consider how Remediation Orders and Remediation Contribution Orders heard in the First Tier Tribunal will ultimately affect proceedings in the TCC.
Cladding claims – the Court’s approach - 23 January 2023
TCC issues further guidance in response to fire safety defects in the case of LDC (Portfolio One) v (1) George Downing Construction Limited and (2) European Sheeting Limited (in liquidation)
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First substantive cladding case post-Grenfell highlights what costs can be claimed - 17 August 2022
In this article Claire Randall-Smith and Josh Curry consider Martlet Homes Limited v Mulalley, the first substantive cladding case post-Grenfell. This case provides an indication on whether defective works justify repair or replacement and whether waking watch costs are recoverable. It is also interesting for its analysis on how to deal with breaches relating to installation and specification.
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Transitioning to new building safety regulation - 16 August 2022
The Government’s consultation on the implementation of new regulation for higher risk buildings provides some indication on what the transitional regime will be for the introduction of the Gateway Regime. Tom Douglas and Gemma Irving consider what this means for developers.
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EWS1 Forms - are they still required and if so, for how much longer? - 4 July 2022
TIn the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower tragedy, RICS introduced the External Wall System 1 (EWS1) form to report to lenders on the presence, or absence, of combusitble materials on the external façade of multi-storey residential buildings. With widespread regulatory reform and legislative updates regarding fire safety, there has been debate on whether EWS1 forms are still required. As Jonathan Bowley and James Molland consider in this article, EWS1 forms perform a separate commercial purpose and their continued use is expected for some time to come.
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PI Insurance in the wake of the Building Safety Bill - 25 April 2022
As the Building Safety Bill progresses through parliament and is likely to become law within the next few months, much attention has been focused on how housebuilders, contractors, and their supply chains will be able to respond to new claims arising from ongoing issues relating to the use of combustible materials in residential premises. In this article, Eversheds have teamed up with professional indemnity insurance broker Gallagher to consider the issues.
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Building Safety Bill – Court will have power to extend liabilities beyond SPVs - 11 April 2022
At the time of writing the Building Safety Bill1 has had its third (and final) reading in the House of Lords – the last chance for input by that chamber. Following considerable changes in the Lords, not only does the Bill potentially extend time periods for claims beyond what anyone might have previously envisaged, it now also fixes potential liability on entities who might have thought they had been discharged from liability, or indeed never thought they would be liable in the first place.
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The Building Safety Bill – new provisions introduced by the House of Lords - 11 March 2022
A new revision of the Building Safety Bill was published on 2 March 2022. It reflects changes made by the House of Lords during the Bill’s progress through parliament before it becomes law. The new revision introduces a rectification regime, prohibitions on developers, and building liability orders.
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Legal sanctions proposed for housebuilders’ failure to fund cladding remediation - 17 February 2022
The public inquiry into the Grenfell tragedy and the Hackitt reports showed that there were systemic failures in the construction industry as a whole, with problems originating at every point in the supply chain. When it comes to issues of liability, it is often difficult to unpick who should bear responsibility, particularly when the wrongdoing is historic and there is presumably a lack of available evidence.
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Building Safety Bill - What is a "Higher Risk Building"? - 8 February 2022
Although the Building Safety Bill has not yet become law, it is worth considering now whether or not its provisions may apply to your contracts. A full awareness of what constitutes a “higher risk building” is essential for all contracting parties, so that they know the full extent of their duties and mandatory requirements under the new legislation.
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Building Safety Bill passes House of Commons with 30 year limitation period amendment for retrospective claims under s.1 of the Defective Premises Act 1972 - 26 January 2022
In the House of Commons on 19 January there were calls that the 30 year limitation period should be included as a matter of law. On 20 January a revised draft of the Bill passed the House of Commons. This now includes the amendment that claims under s1 DPA shall have a retrospective 30 year limitation period.
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Gove's new proposals on the cladding crisis - 12 January 2022
On 10 January 2022 Michael Gove, the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, made an announcement to the House of Commons and wrote to the “Residential Property Developer Industry”. He announced that he is giving the industry until March 2022 to conduct negotiations and reach a settlement to resolve how cladding for properties between 11-18m will be resolved.
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