The London Borough of Lambeth has spent more than £1.8m on leaseholder settlements as part of compensation for overpaid building works.
This news came to fruition when Liberal Democrat opposition councillor Donna Harris questioned Maria Kay (Labour cabinet member for housing and homelessness) at a council meeting.
Donna Harris asked Maria Kay to confirm how many NDAs and confidentiality clauses were executed between the council and its leaseholders from January 2019 to September 2023. Maria Kay was then asked to provide a full breakdown of the total compensation (including any ex-gratia payments) made under these NDAs and the value of legal costs subsequently incurred.
Maria Kay stated:
“During the period of January 2019 to September 2023, there have been a total of 119 agreements that contain confidentiality clauses between the council and leaseholders.
The total amount paid following settlement in these has been £1,811,500. The information relating to any legal costs incurred in relation to these is not held.”
The Local Democracy Reporting Service reported over the summer that any leaseholders that were awarded compensation for overcharged building work had been asked to sign the NDAs in an attempt to prevent them from discussing their award with others who had been impacted.
