The court has ruled in favour of the UK Government in a landmark legal case that has forced freeholder Grey GR, owned by multibillion pound railway pension fund Railpen, to fix ‘serious’ safety issues at Vista Tower in Stevenage.
The judgement gives the residents of Vista Tower assurances that their homes will be made safe without further delay, after concerns were raised about the building in 2019. The trial, which took place in March, concluded with a Government issued Remediation Order imposing a legally binding requirement on Grey GR to fix the fire safety issues identified. The tower block did not meet required standards in accordance with the Building Safety Act.
Leaseholders who reside in the building have thanked the Government for pushing the case forward, with one resident saying post-trial that ‘this is the closest we’ve been to regaining our freedom after a difficult few years’.
Sophie Bichener, leaseholder in Vista Tower said: “I am very pleased to see this remediation order has been made. This gives leaseholders the reassurance we deserve and is the closest we have been to regaining our freedom after what has been an extremely difficult few years.
“We thank the Secretary of State for bringing this remediation order – it will have a huge impact on our lives and we hope our involvement in this case will bring hope to many others who are waiting for their freeholders to do the right thing and make their homes a safe place to live too.”
Remedial work has been predicted to cost around £15 million and leaseholders are being handed a service charge of up to £208,000. It has been estimated that the repairs will be completed by September 2025, after delays in restoring the building forced the government to launch legal action in 2022. Grey GR may face sanctions if the work isn’t completed by a certain date.
Grey GR is ultimately owned by Railpen, a scheme that manages £34bn in assets.
MP and Levelling UP Secretary Michael Gove has said Railpen’s conduct on the matter has been ‘disappointing’ and that ‘rail workers and leaseholders deserve better’.
Gove said: “Leaseholders have lived with uncertainty for far too long while Grey GR delayed essential works to make homes safe. This decision is a victory for leaseholders in Vista Tower and across the country.
“It is hugely disappointing that Railpen has kept leaseholders in limbo in this way. Railway workers with their pensions invested in this fund, as well as innocent leaseholders, deserve better.
“This court case should serve as a warning to all building owners. If you fail to fix your unsafe buildings and ensure the safety of residents, we will see you in court. We will not stop until we secure justice for leaseholders.”
The Vista Tower case was the first legal action brought by the Government under robust new powers introduced through the Building Safety Act 2022.
Following commencement of legal action, Grey started work on Vista Tower in January 2024. The Remediation Order will provide an exact date by which the work must be completed.
The Government is also seeking remediation orders on a further five Grey GR buildings that have or will be going to trial over the next year. This includes The Chocolate Box in Bournemouth where, as a result of government legal action, Grey has now started remediation works.
A further four remediation orders have been secured against freeholder Wallace Estates, benefitting approximately 400 leaseholders that had faced delays to remediation.
Councils, fire and rescue services and the Building Safety Regulator now have powers under the Act to take enforcement action against building owners not complying with their obligations and discharging their responsibilities to leaseholders.
However, Grey GR says that the safety of residents if of the ‘utmost priority’, they say that internal works were ‘completed on the building in 2023’ and the external work is due to be completed this year.
A spokesperson from Grey GR has said:
“The safety of residents has been and remains Grey GR’s (Grey) utmost priority. We have always been fully committed to remediating the buildings for which we are responsible, including Vista Tower, where we have made considerable progress remediating. By its own admission during the final hearing, the Department of Levelling Up Housing and Communities (DLUHC) accepted that Grey was committed to remediating Vista Tower.
“While we are satisfied with the Tribunal’s judgement to issue a Remediation Order solely to provide an additional “backstop to give reassurance” to leaseholders, it is important to note the Tribunal’s determination that this is “not a fault-based order”, nor that the terms of the Order will change the timeline for delivery of the agreed remediation. Indeed, the order is based solely on the plans already submitted by Grey and that are already in progress.
“Additionally, the Tribunal asserted that criticism of delays caused by Grey’s application to Building Safety Fund funding was “misplaced”, due to Grey having followed the Government’s own complex guidance and advice in assessing the fire safety of Vista Tower.
“Contrary to DLUHC’s statement, internal works throughout the building were completed in 2023, and the extensive remedial work to the external façade began early this year. We remain optimistic that we will finish all works by our provisional completion date of Autumn 2025, and the court acknowledged that the remediation order has no bearing on our ability to speed up the process.
“As detailed during the hearing, we have faced numerous delays during the remediation process in our attempts to seek the clarity needed from DLUHC to proceed at pace with remediation. We have engaged extensively with the Government throughout where it has been possible to do so, but have been met with slow – and in some cases no – responses to our enquiries, constantly changing deadlines and requirements, and a frequent moving of goalposts.
“Following the decision, we hope we can move forward and continue to be a part of the solution to an issue that was not of our making and provide leaseholders with safer homes.”
