Victoria Square: Boost for apartment owners as Stormont agrees to fast-track new legislation

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has secured agreement to use the accelerated passage procedure for laws being introduced in response to the failed multi-million pound compensation claim by residents at the Victoria Square apartments in Belfast city centre.

With their route to an appeal hearing set to be mapped out later this month, a solicitor who represents the group said they were encouraged by the Executive support for the Defective Premises Bill.

James Turner of O’Reilly Stewart law firm said: “This is a vital part of the process, and my clients are heartened that it seems to be working.

“There are also other owners of properties across Northern Ireland facing similar problems because of defective premises.

“They are affected by the disparity in the law between Northern Ireland and England and Wales, and are anxious for this new legislation to be introduced.”

Completed back in 2008, the Victoria Square residential development on Chichester Street has been empty for the past five years.

In April 2019 all residents in all 91 apartments were evacuated due to safety concerns about a structural column.

Ulster Garden Villages Ltd, a charity which owns more than half the apartments, and individual owners joined forces to sue the builders and architects involved in the development.

They claimed for structural defects, negligence and loss of value in a joint lawsuit estimated to be worth up to £25m.

Construction firms Farrans and Gilbert-Ash, along with architecture company Building Design Partnership, all vehemently denied any liability.

In March, the three defendants successfully applied to have the action struck out at the High Court on the grounds that it was statute barred.

Under laws in Northern Ireland a claim for compensation must be lodged within six years of a building being completed - unlike the 30 year timeframe in England and Wales.

A judge dismissed the action after finding that the apartment owners were caught by that limit.

That ruling is set to be challenged at the Court of Appeal.

A further review has been listed for later this month, when steps will be taken to move the case to a full hearing.

Amid widespread public sympathy for those who have lost their homes, Mr Lyons has moved to introduce new legislation to bring Northern Ireland into line with the law in the rest of the UK.

Mr Turner, who represents the owners of 66 of the Victoria Square apartments, stressed that it could have wider implications.

He added: “I have been inundated with enquiries from members of the public in similar positions and other law firms who have clients facing the same plight.”