Property Week quotes Michael O'Connor on the Court of Appeal rejecting Get Living's appeal against Triathlon over fire safety defects

The Court of Appeal has affirmed the first-tier tribunal’s decision that Get Living must pay to repair defective cladding at its Olympic East Village in Stratford, east London under a Remediation Contribution Order (RCO).

Triathlon Homes launched a case against Get Living in January 2023 over a £27m bill to fix fire safety defects in properties Triathlon manages. The tribunal ordered Get Living to pay for the repair works on five buildings in January 2024 and the BTR operator appealed against the ruling the following month.

The Court of Appeal ruled that the RCO covered costs incurred for safety work by Get Living subsidiary Stratford Village Development Partnership prior to the introduction of the Building Safety Act (BSA) in 2022. The ruling means tenants who have to pay service charges for costs incurred in connection with remediation works can apply for RCO against a landlord if a court considers their case to be “just and equitable”.

Michael O'Connor, Partner in our Construction, Engineering & Projects team, explains in Property Week that the ruling is “a landmark moment for one of the new rights of action made available to innocent parties affected by defective cladding under the BSA”. He continues:

It means ‘innocent’ companies who have invested in corporate structures that include subsidiaries involved in residential developments affected by defective cladding could ultimately be picking up the bill regardless of fault or culpability.

Read the full article in Property Week here.