News

The combined Building Safety Act 2022 appeals, Adriatic Land v the Leaseholders at Hippersley Point and SVDP & Get Living v Triathlon Homes LLP, start in the Court of Appeal today, Monday 17 March

The appeal in Adriatic Land will be the first of the two to be heard. 

• The Court of Appeal is being asked to decide, on the landlord’s appeal, whether para 9 of the schedule 8 service charge recoverability restrictions under the Act are retrospective in applying to costs incurred by a landlord before the Act came into force but not by then paid by a leaseholder. The landlord contends such a construction would amount to an unlawful interference with its A1P1 rights and that s3 HRA requires  para 9 be read in such a way as to avoid any retrospective effect.
• The Adriatic appeal also considers whether a landlord’s costs of an application for dispensation made prospectively should be recoverable from the leaseholders or whether the Daejan v Benson suggestion that dispensation be granted on terms including that costs not be recoverable should apply to this case.

The Secretary of State for MHCLG has intervened on all grounds seeks dismissal of the appeal.

The appeal in Triathlon follows from Wednesday. There the First-tier Tribunal made remediation contribution orders requiring SVDP, the developer of the East Village in London, and Get Living, to pay for costs of remediation to 5 blocks of flats, where the works were underway by the time of the trial, with funding from the Building Safety Fund. The issues include:

• Whether it is just and equitable to make such orders in those circumstances.
• Whether an RCO can be made in relation to costs incurred prior to the Act coming into force. The Secretary of State has intervened to make arguments on this issue.

Members of Falcon Chambers are appearing in both appeals. In the Adriatic and Triathlon appeals, Camilla Chorfi and Richard Miller are appearing as part of the counsel team for the Secretary of State, led by Sir James Eadie KC and with Michael Walsh, Jason Pobjoy and Will Perry in Adriatic Land, and led by Michael Walsh in Triathlon. In the Triathlon appeal, Cecily Crampin is junior counsel for the Appellant, led by Jonathan Selby KC of Keating Chambers. Paul Letman is junior counsel for the First Respondent, led by Alexander Nissen KC of Keating Chambers.