Building Safety Bill – Commons Library Research Briefing
‘Second Reading of the Building Safety Bill (Bill 132 of 2021-22) is expected to take place on Wednesday 21 July.’
House of Commons Library, 16th July 2021
Source: commonslibrary.parliament.uk
Category: building law
Proposed changes to the Defective Premises Act – Practical Law: Construction Blog
‘Many changes have been introduced since Grenfell to address the cladding crisis including the establishment of various loans, funds, plans for new regulators, new taxes, levies and new rules to govern building safety throughout the lifetime of a building.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 13th July 2021
Volume of laws makes it impossible for local authorities to enforce them, warn private landlords – Local Government Lawyer
‘Private landlords have complained that there will be 168 pieces of legislation governing their relations with tenants once the new Building Safety Bill passes through Parliament.’
Local Government Lawyer, 8th July 2021
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Grenfell bereaved and survivors bring multimillion pound case to high court – The Guardian
‘More than 800 bereaved and survivors from Grenfell Tower and 102 firefighters are seeking up to tens of millions of pounds in compensation from organisations involved in the disastrous refurbishment in a case that reaches the high court on Wednesday.’
The Guardian, 6th July 2021
Source: www.theguardian.com
The Building Safety Bill – Nearly Legal
‘This is, so we have been repeatedly told, the vehicle through which the government will save leaseholders from having to pay life-changing sums to remediate the fire safety defects which are so prevalent at blocks of flats across the country. The headline is that it does not do that (nor does it contain the details of the much delayed loan scheme). To the contrary, this Bill creates a bespoke process by which landlords of “higher-risk” buildings can recover their building safety costs even if their leases do not let them do so.’
Nearly Legal, 5th July 2021
Source: nearlylegal.co.uk
Grenfell prompts creation of building safety regulator – BBC News
‘A new regulator will be set up with the power to prosecute property developers that do not meet safety standards, the government has announced.’
BBC News, 5th July 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Leasehold high-rise flats: who pays for fire safety work? – House of Commons Library
‘This briefing paper considers the debate about who is responsible for paying for fire safety works on blocks of flats in the wake of the Grenfell Tower fire.’
House of Commons Library, 20th June 2021
Source: commonslibrary.parliament.uk
Fully cladding your Particulars of Claim is key – Mills & Reeve
‘Beware the pitfalls of bringing a claim at the last possible opportunity, and the prohibition against pleading new causes of action in the Reply to Defence … Martlett Homes Limited v. Mulalley & Co. Limited [2021] EWHC 296 (TCC).’
Mills & Reeve, 8th June 2021
Source: www.mills-reeve.com
Grenfell survivors condemn ‘grave injustice’ as leaseholders left facing huge bills to remove cladding – The Independent
‘Survivors and bereaved relatives from the Grenfell Tower fire disaster say they are furious after parliament voted for measures that will leave householders facing huge bills for removing dangerous cladding from homes.’
The Independent, 29th April 2021
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Grenfell: Government defeated on fire safety costs bill – BBC News
‘The government has been defeated for a fourth time on its Fire Safety Bill as the House of Lords voted to shield residents from fire safety work costs.’
BBC News, 27th April 2021
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Unlimited fines for those who breach fire safety regulations – Home Office
‘Building owners could face unlimited fines following new measures being brought in to strengthen fire safety, the Home Office has announced today.’
Home Office, 17th March 2021
Source: www.gov.uk
Jail for builder Rob Hayel who ‘left homes at risk of collapse’ – BBC News
‘An “immoral” builder who left homes at risk of “catastrophic structural collapse” has been jailed.’
BBC News, 6th August 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Hastings Borough Council v Turner [2020] UKUT 184 (LC) – Tanfield Chambers
‘A property which was converted into flats before the Building Regulations 1991 came into force, which otherwise falls within the meaning of an HMO set out in Section 254(1)(e) of the Housing Act 2004, will be an HMO unless those regulations are now complied with. When appealing the issue of an HMO license in the FTT, the burden of proof is on the applicant to establish that the property is now compliant with the Buildings Regulations 1991.’
Tanfield Chambers, 30th June 2020
Source: www.tanfieldchambers.co.uk
Supreme Court hands down key ruling on listed buildings – Local Government Lawyer
‘Planning inspectors should reconsider whether two lead urns that were placed on top of limestone piers at a historic house were “buildings” or not, the Supreme Court has ruled.’
Local Government Lawyer, 21st May 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
“What next for the Construction Act?” – Rupert Choat for Building Magazine – Atkin Chambers
‘The latest consultation on the Construction Act reached its second stage last month, with the government’s long overdue publication of responses to its consultation on the legislation. When the 1996 act was amended in 2011, the government proposed reviewing it after three years. However, it was six years before consultation with the industry even began. A summary of the responses to that consultation was due two years ago but, presumably owing to Brexit, was not published until this February.’
Atkin Chambers, 12th May 2020
Source: www.atkinchambers.com
Coronavirus, adjudication and injunctions – Practical Law Construction Blog
‘Coronavirus, or COVID-19, is impacting all parts of our lives. Currently, the focus in the construction industry is rightly on the safety of workers still attending sites. No doubt, the future will see litigation on whether the coronavirus gives rise to extensions of time, force majeure, frustration or other legal rights or remedies.’
Practical Law Construction Blog, 15th April 2020
Contracting with Coronavirus: the NEC contract terms – 39 Essex Chambers
‘This article, the second in a series of three articles, considers the effect of Coronavirus on the contract regimes applicable to NEC forms of contract. Other articles cover JCT terms, and the possible impact of the common law principle of frustration.’
39 Essex Chambers, 27th March 2020
Source: www.39essex.com
Contracting with Coronavirus: JCT contract terms – 39 Essex Chambers
‘This article, the first in a series of three articles, considers the effect of Coronavirus on the contract terms applicable to the JCT form of contract. Other articles cover NEC terms, and the possible impact of the common law principle of frustration.’
39 Essex Chambers, 26th March 2020
Source: www.39essex.com
C Spencer Limited v M W High Tech Projects UK Limited [2020] EWCA Civ 331 – The relationship between hybrid contracts and valid payment notices – Hardwicke Chambers
‘The Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996 created hybrid contracts, and with that, complications as to the relationship between these contracts and the Act. In the significant case of C Spencer Limited v M W High Tech Projects UK Limited [2020] EWCA Civ 331, Lord Coulson clarifies whether a valid payment notice ought to separately identify the sum due in respect of construction operations.’
Hardwicke Chambers, 26th March 2020
Source: hardwicke.co.uk
The relevance of pre-contract information – Law Society’s Gazette
‘In PBS Energo v Bester Generacion [2020] EWHC 223 (TCC), the Technology and Construction Court concluded that asbestos contamination, encountered on a biomass energy plant construction project, had been foreseeable in light of the pre-contract information provided to the subcontractor. The effect of this was that the subcontractor had not been entitled to an extension of time.’
Law Society's Gazette, 30th March 2020
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
