A housing association has recently won an £8 million High Court legal battle against a construction firm for cladding defects, following an installation at a tower block in Hampshire between 2006 and 2008.
Martlet Homes Ltd, a subsidiary of Hyde Housing, which owns the tower blocks in Gosport, took defending building contractor, Mulalley & Co Ltd to court for damages and costs incurred to replace the defective cladding, along with the cost of providing a waking watch at the building until the cladding had been safely removed.
Although Mulalley admitted that there were some defects to the cladding it claimed that only limited repairs were required and there was no need to completely remove the materials from the tower block. It also argued that the waking watch was not justifiable.
His Honour Judge Stephen Davies sitting as a High Court Judge ruled in favour of Martlet Homes, making only a small adjustment to the costs of the waking watch.
The judgment is believed to be the first in favour of a housing association against a contractor for installing defective cladding.
In its statement after the ruling, Hyde Housing said: “The ruling sets a crucial example that construction contractors can be held accountable for the remedial costs of removing dangerous cladding. It could help others affected by the crisis – including other housing associations – by paving the way to hold construction contractors to account.”
Hyde said that while the final amount of damages had not been finalised, it was confident it would recover most of the £8m it claimed.
Adam Davis, a Director with Palmers and Head of our Construction Law department, said: “This judgment may well be the first but will almost certainly not be the last claim against cladding firms.
“With such projects often being high value, such clams will have a significant impact on the construction sector as they seek to remediate and ensure that all future contracts meet the latest regulations.”
For more information on the specialist legal support we are able to offer the construction sector or for help and advice on cladding remediation issues, please get in touch with us.