Residents living in Plymouth’s stricken Evolution Cove apartment block are seeking legal advice as they fear for the value of their flats.
Leaseholders have told PlymouthLive they would seek compensation if their properties are devalued following the announcement that the Stonehouse building could collapse.
They are also concerned about the cost of future insurance premiums and service charges, saying that leaseholders have already paid more than £2m in service charges during the past 15 years.
One property owner told PlymouthLive they alone had paid nearly £34,000 during that period.
But mostly they are concerned about the impact on the value of their properties, having paid anything from £140,000 to £250,000 for leases on flats, and whether they could even sublet them once a prohibition notice is lifted and residents of the 62 flats can concern.
Grey GR Limited Partnership, which owns the building, completed a temporary fix this week with a formal structural report due to have been issued and a review of the findings today, May 22.
The company expects Plymouth City Council and Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service to review the data next week and, if happy, lift orders banning people from entering the endangered building so residents can start to move in from Wednesday, May 27.
But one resident told PlymouthLive: “Nobody will want to go back in there. I’m going to pursue a claim to find out what the value of my property was prior to this – and what it is now.
“I want a valuation and compensation (if it has gone down in value) and for any costs and distress caused.
“There will be 62 families going in knowing it needs to be repaired and who is to say it won’t get any more serious while they are trying to fix it.”
The resident, also a leaseholder, is one of several residents who have told PlymouthLive they are seeking legal advice and seeking information about the building, including by making requests for data about the history of the building.
They are concerned about the cost of a permanent repair and how long it will take.
The seven-storey building was evacuated on March 20, and on April 17 the council slapped a 27-metre exclusion zone, and road closures, around Evolution Cove amid fears it could fully or partially collapse.
In a letter to leaseholders, Centrick Group, which manages Evolution Cove for its owner, said a detailed reoccupation plan, including practical arrangements for returning to the building, would be issued once the temporary fix was inspected.
It said work carried out by a specialist contractor was expected to stabilise the basement temporarily and allow safe occupation whilst a permanent solution is developed after residents have moved back in.
But it is too early to say how the building will be permanently fixed,how long it will take or what it will cost.
In the letter, Centrick said the temporary fix was funded by Grey GR upfront but it was looking at how it was going to pay for it “including seeking recovery from third parties and insurers” – but said leaseholders could be billed “as a last resort”.
Another leaseholder told PlymouthLive: “We are concerned about how this will hit leaseholders who pay service charges. They could not justify putting service charges up.
“They have not yet said how they are going to do the repairs. I have no confidence they will be able to make it safe.
“And they will have a job getting anyone who wants to rent. Plus there are no parking spaces now so that will bring rental income down – that’s if you can get anyone to move in there.”
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