Victoria Square apartments 'have crushed our spirits'

Patrick McKeague said some residents are still paying their mortgage even though they can't live in their apartment

Owners of apartments deemed defective at Belfast's Victoria Square complex have had their claim for compensation struck out.

One owner said it "crushes your spirit" after being told to evacuate his home in 2019.

A High Court judge said he acknowledged the "trauma" endured by those affected.

However, he said he could not advance their case because, under the law, such claims must be made within six years of a building being completed.

Residents were forced to vacate their apartments in April 2019 due to safety reasons.

Apartment owner, Patrick McKeague, said it was "really hard to put into words" how the last five years have affected residents.

"It really does crush your spirit - it's quite incredible to feel that this sort of thing could happen," he said.

"Beautiful luxury apartments in the centre of Belfast - you just don't expect that do you - you expect good workmanship that everything is right and you don't expect to be told there's ineffective columns."

Mr McKeague said some owners are still paying their mortgages.

"This has been going on for five years - it's just too long really to have that hanging over our heads - residents are still paying their mortgages.

"One particular resident told me they can only pay the interest on the loan because they can't afford it - it's a very challenging time for all of us."

'Will they have to take the building down?'

Mr McKeague said questions remain unanswered after Wednesday's court hearing.

"It was bleak - it wasn't great news for us - what are we going to be able to do with these apartments?

"Will we be able to repair the columns, will they have to take the building down?

"I don't know it's a question that's unanswerable at the moment."

Residents were told to vacate the properties in 2019 and have not been able to return since

In a letter residents were told "a structural issue" had been identified and a repair would take 20 weeks to complete.

Despite being unable to return to their properties residents continued having to pay rates, buildings insurance, a service charge, and in some cases, mortgage payments.

The builders of the apartments, which opened in 2008, Farrans and Gilbert and Ash, along with architects involved in the building, have denied any liability.

• Residents told to vacate Belfast building

• Apartment building damage 'worse than expected'

• 'No cost assurances' for vacated residents

Representing the plaintiffs, who include 30 private residents as well as the charity Ulster Garden Villages, Sean Brannigan KC said: "They are completely innocent. Some of them will face ruin as a result of what has happened.

"One of the plaintiffs is a charity and the remaining are residents, who will be left literally without the buildings they have paid for and ongoing liability for a building which will ultimately have to be demolished."

'Lot of human pain'

Mr Justice Huddleston said he appreciated there was "a lot of human pain involved in this action", but that he had to apply the law as he found it, saying: "I conclude they are caught by the six-year time limit."

In England and Wales, owners of properties that are found to be defective have 30 years to make a claim.

The plaintiffs' barrister, Mr Brannigan, asked the judge to delay imposing his judgment for six months in the hope that the legislation in Northern Ireland might be updated to reflect the law in England and Wales.

The judge dismissed his request, but suggested it might be possible for a further claim to be brought by the company who manage the development, or by the owners, if suitable legislation was brought in by the Northern Ireland legislature.

In a statement the management company, in which the apartment owners are shareholders, said that "with Stormont now restored… [we are] hopeful that legislative amendments can be secured that offer a legal remedy to a wider range of property owners in Northern Ireland who have experienced damage to their homes and suffered financial loss as a result of construction defects".

A solicitor for the apartment owners said the Northern Ireland Assembly had failed to provide the same legal protection available to homeowners in England and Wales

Speaking on behalf of the apartment owners after the hearing, solicitor James Turner said: "The owners of Victoria Square which include a charity and more than 30 individuals are completely blameless victims in this failure to address the problems".

He said they were "now victims twice over as a result of the failure of the legislature to act quickly to give home owners in Northern Ireland the same basic protection against dangerous buildings as homeowners enjoy in England and Wales".

"In those regions, the government has moved to protect owners and residents by extending the time they have available to get those responsible for building defects and their insurers to put things right," he added.

He said the Victoria Square apartment owners would now take time to consider the High Court judgment and assess their options.