Surrey flat owner struggling to sell over fire safety certificate

A woman who is struggling to sell her flat because of the lack of a fire safety certificate, has said she cannot afford to continue living there.

Sharon Naidoo, 65, wants to move out of Camberley, Surrey, to live with family in Bracknell but says potential buyers for her property in Southwell Park Road are struggling to get a mortgage.

Remediation works on three apartment blocks at The Courtyard to bring them up to safety standards are expected to start in the autumn of next year.

Developer Crest Nicholson has declined to comment.

The Grenfell fire disaster in 2017 led to changes, including inspections of buildings to check for fire risks.

The BBC understands that the company Tri Fire, run by engineer Adam Kiziak, was appointed to carry out the assessment at The Courtyard and deemed the flats to be safe.

But concerns about the way Mr Kiziak had been signing off fire safety certificates, known as EWS1 forms, led some lenders to withdraw mortgage offers earlier in the year.

The BBC also understands that Crest Nicholson reviewed the Tri Fire reports and said it was not satisfied with the results and appointed a different fire engineering practice to do new assessments, which found that work does need to be done on the inside and outside of the blocks to make them safe.

Mr Kiziak has been approached for comment.

Fire alarms have been installed in flats at The Courtyard and the blocks have a “waking watch”, which involves hiring people to patrol them around the clock, looking for signs of fire.

Ms Naidoo told BBC Radio Surrey that Crest Nicholson was providing lenders with a “letter of comfort” which outlines the company’s commitment to making the development safe, but a number of lenders are still not willing to offer mortgages to buyers.

She said the planned works are not happening soon enough to help her situation and believes they will continue for a couple more years.

“I thought I would be able to get the cash for my flat and go and live where I wanted to – to retire – and I can’t do that,” she said.

“And I can’t wait until 2027 because I can’t afford to live here now, so I don’t know where I’m supposed to find the money.

“I don’t have the money to keep paying the bills and to live here… and I can’t sell it, so I can’t win… I don’t know what I’m supposed to do.”

Ms Naidoo said she is having to choose whether to pay bills, including service charges, or buy food.

Pinnacle Property Management, which manages the development for the private company, The Courtyard (the Atrium) Management Limited, said it understands it can a struggle for owners to pay service charges and does offer various options, including monthly payments.

The sale of the property is also being held up because of the lack a legal document which allows for changes to the ground rent within the lease, known as a deed of variation, Ms Naidoo said.

She claimed increasing charges are also causing problems for buyers seeking mortgages.

E&J Estates, which is the agent for the company which holds the head lease (under an agreement to sublet granted by the freeholder), has told the BBC it has previously agreed to other deeds of variations at The Courtyard to amend the ground rent on terms which are generally acceptable to most lenders.

It added it remains open to working with leaseholders and buyers to facilitate sales wherever possible.

On the remediation work, a spokesperson said: “While E&J Estates continues to monitor progress, responsibility for overseeing the project… lies with the management company and its agent.”

The Liberal Democrat MP for Surrey Heath, Dr Al Pinkerton, who is supporting Ms Naidoo, said the government is not doing enough to support people from around the UK, who are being affected by similar problems with EWS1 forms.

“Fundamentally, there has been a complete lack of leadership from the top of government,” he said.

“I’ve had multiple meetings with government ministers to alert them to this crisis.

“They didn’t know about it until I brought it to them, or at least they weren’t taking it seriously,” he said.

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been approached for comment.