Cladding focus Check wording
If the building is under six years old, there may also be grounds for a claim under the Defective Premises Act 1972. We strongly urge managing agents and freeholders to thoroughly check the wording of their building warranty policies, and instruct intrusive facade reports if there is any doubt or concern regarding the materials used and their construction. Warranties are specifically in place to deal with
claims of this type, and to protect building owners and residents from incurring large costs due to improper workmanship. They should be used in full. Should neither of these avenues be applicable or provide a solution, if legal advice determines that recourse is viable, you could consider acting against the relevant party. If the relevant party is no longer in existence
and the products in situ are covered under either the £200m ACM or £1bn external wall funds created by the government, a claim should be lodged with them. The procedure for claiming through the £1bn external wall fund was set to be fully announced in May this year. Upon the generation of funds, the consultancy and outline design phases can begin, including the specification of the new system, the scope of the works, preliminaries and compliance documentation. This is then amalgamated to create a tender pack for contractors to quote for. Detailed analysis of these tender returns is vital, to ensure that they meet the scope and specification and are on a like for like basis.
Keeping residents informed of the process
is important, and open meetings will benefit in this regard, allowing them to ask questions and fully understand the effect the works will have on the building and their daily lives. A pre contract meeting with the selected principal contractor will then be scheduled, to ensure agreement on all elements by all parties. On site works should then be overseen by an independent consultant to make sure that they are being carried out to a good standard, whilst following the agreed and compliant specification and scope, allowing an EWS1 form to be raised on completion of the project. This confirms the property to be safe, saleable and insurable. If not previously instructed, and there is a path for recourse, a quantum report could also be instructed during the stripping of the existing system at this phase. Monitoring and snagging should also be included within the overseeing. Upon completion of the works, there should
be a handover of the operations and maintenance manuals (O&Ms) created by the principal contractor in both hard and soft copy to the managing agents, along with all permissions and certifications. It is clear from the issues uncovered during
our surveys alone that there are at least ten years of work ahead to remediate decades seriously enough. Our goal is to do what we can to help make all of Britain’s buildings safe
Dorian Lawrence is managing director of FR Consultants. For more information, view page 3
FOCUS
www.frmjournal.com JUNE 2020
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