Block residents 'horrified' by £29k insurance bill

Rachel Clayton said she was "shocked" when the bill dropped through the door

Leaseholders in a block of flats with unsafe cladding say they are shocked after being left with a £29,000 bill to insure the building.

Issues with the cladding mean that traditional insurers will not cover Emms Court in Ber Street, Norwich.

However, a specialist insurer has offered cover, but for more than six times the premium the leaseholders had previously paid.

Rachel Clayton, 60, a leaseholder since the block was built, said the bill was a “kick in the teeth”.

The cladding at Emms Court is due to be changed under warranty, but work has not yet been completed

Following the Grenfell Tower fire, the government made changes to building regulations for blocks of flats.

Emms Court's cladding means it does not have the correct certification enabling it to be covered by conventional buildings insurance.

The annual premium has leapt up from £4,750 and will be split between the four-storey block's 14 leaseholders.

Mrs Clayton said she and her husband were "horrified" when they realised their share amounted to nearly £2,000 on top of their usual service fee.

"We are both retired, so this is a real kick in the teeth," she said.

Keith Morgan said he would have to make sacrifices to pay the bill

Retired music teacher Keith Morgan, 73, paid £180,000 for the leasehold on his flat seven years ago.

He said he would have to make sacrifices to pay the insurance bill.

"It's difficult to know where the extra money is going to come from," he said.

The building's freehold is owned by a company called Petros, while another firm, Emms Court Management, has looked after maintenance and upkeep.

Directors of both companies, David and Catherine Collins, wrote to residents on 6 June, announcing they had resigned from the management company.

They said this left no directors in place, adding that "this situation needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency" and inviting leaseholders to apply.

Emms Court is near the centre of Norwich

Mr Collins told the BBC insurance was the responsibility of the "management company".

A third company, Norwich Residential Management (NRM), has been employed as agents to collect the service fees and maintain the building.

In a letter to leaseholders, NRM said the building's insurance used to be arranged by the freeholder and that remedial work to the cladding must be completed in the next two years.

Leaseholders have been invited to a meeting to discuss the issue on Thursday.

In a statement to the BBC, NRM confirmed it was asked last month to deal with the insurance renewal.

It said it had worked with the National House Building Council to secure funding on behalf of the management company to replace the block's cladding.

"The estimated timescale to complete the works is nine months," it said.

"Once the cladding is replaced, the insurance premium is expected to reduce accordingly."