LEASE’s latest Shared Ownership Insight Report identifies recurring problems reported by shared owners, including poor communication, landlord non-compliance with lease terms, and difficulties with repairs, service charges and resale or staircasing processes. The report also highlights concerns around building insurance costs, redress routes and uncertainty linked to the Leasehold and Freehold Reform Act 2024.
New legislation has been introduced that would make it easier for contractors and developers who have paid to replace unsafe cladding to recover those costs from product manufacturers. The Building Safety (Remediation of Unsafe Cladding etc) Bill is intended to support cost recovery linked to remediation work.
The local NHS trust says the facade installed by Merit Health on an unfinished hospital project needs replacing, alongside concerns about the steel frame. Robertson is due to begin removing mechanical and electrical systems, pipework and internal elements as part of the next phase of work.
The Regulator of Social Housing has published new consumer regulatory judgements, including C3 grades for Kirklees Metropolitan Borough Council and the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames due to serious weaknesses in understanding stock condition and managing tenant-related risks. The update also includes a C1 upgrade for Broadacres Housing Association and first consumer grades for several other landlords, reflecting a mixed picture across the sector.
The article argues that adaptive reuse and retrofit should play a central role in meeting housing demand and net zero goals, rather than relying primarily on demolition and new build. It cites London examples, policy shifts, and emerging digital and finance tools that are making retrofit more viable, while noting that technical, financial and process barriers still limit wider adoption.
Barking and Dagenham Council says it has resolved an adjudication dispute with McLaren Construction concerning the power supply arrangements at the 12 Thames Road mixed-use development in Barking. The issue centred on whether the scheme’s electrical resilience met British Standards, particularly in relation to firefighting lifts and sprinkler systems during a fire and simultaneous power outage.
Karrev has lodged revised plans for the long-vacant Martins Bank Building in Liverpool, seeking to restart a paused office conversion scheme. The amendments keep the core office-led use but update layouts, fire safety and sustainability measures to better suit modern occupier requirements.
The article reports that nearly four in ten London flats resold at a nominal loss after being held for five to ten years, the highest proportion in Great Britain. It also notes that flat values remain under pressure in parts of the market, with building safety, cladding and service charges cited as factors influencing buyer, seller and lender behaviour.
The article reports on a landmark court judgment in which Mulalley secured a contribution from Sto, highlighting ongoing legal disputes over responsibility for cladding-related failures in the aftermath of Grenfell. It notes that the courts continue to address liability questions nearly a decade after the fire.
A Vinci-owned subsidiary, Taylor Woodrow Construction, has been unable to use an earlier arbitration victory to prevent a new defects claim relating to fire defects at seven high-rise blocks in Cardiff. The case follows a major change in building-safety law and involves a fresh claim brought after an earlier dispute with Taylor Wimpey Developments Ltd was defeated in 2022.
The guidance updates the UK Government’s developer remediation contract, which requires major developers to remediate unsafe buildings they developed. It records changes to the lists of developers who have signed, are yet to sign, or are exempt, and notes that the commitments are legally binding once the contract is signed.
McLaren has received Gateway 2 approval for the next phase of the Ebury Bridge housing scheme opposite Chelsea Barracks. The phase is reported to include 330 homes as part of a wider £350m development.
