The City of London Magistrates Court recently ruled against Chaplair Ltd for failing to meet a critical deadline to remove hazardous cladding
Chaplair failed to remove the hazardous cladding from the Lumiere building at 544 Romford Road, London E7.
The legal action was initiated by Newham Council under the authority of the Housing Act 2004, following Chaplair’s failure to comply with the given deadline in an improvement notice issued by the council in September 2020. The original deadline, set for March 31, 2021, went unmet.
The hazardous cladding was not removed until February 2022
Only in May 2021 did the work to remove the hazardous cladding begin. This was completed by February 2022. The council successfully argued in court that there was no justifiable excuse for the delay in meeting such a critical safety requirement.
“Through our Newham Cladding Action campaign to protect the rights of residents in our borough, we have zero tolerance for owners of buildings delaying essential life-saving fire safety work. Failing to remove dangerous cladding as quickly as possible places lives at risk. Where necessary, we will act with full force using our powers to protect our residents,” said the mayor of Newham, Rokhsana Fiaz.
“Six years after the Grenfell Tower disaster, today’s decision by the court symbolises a landmark ruling in our fight to raise standards and hold building owners to account in Newham. It will also help authorities across the country safeguard their residents’ interests using the powers available under vital housing legislation,” he continued.
Chaplair found to have excuses for their actions
In his verdict, Deputy Chief Magistrate Tan Ikram stated, “The prosecution has convincingly demonstrated to me that a valid improvement notice was duly issued, and the defendant company failed to complete the necessary repairs concerning the external facades within the specified timeframe. The defendants have not provided a satisfactory reason for failing to comply with the improvement notice. Consequently, I have determined Chaplair Ltd guilty of the offence.”
The sentencing for this case is scheduled for Tuesday, October 31, 2023, at the Westminster Magistrates Court.
“This monumental ruling sends a clear warning to all building owners operating in Newham that they must act swiftly in the interest of our residents’ safety first and always, otherwise we will take decisive action against you,” concluded Rokhsana Fiaz.
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