Bristol landlords ordered to replace 'safety risk' material on flats

Surveyors found defects in Orchard House

Landlords have been ordered to replace material that poses a fire "safety risk" at a block of flats.

Two leaseholders at Orchard House in Brislington, Bristol, successfully took Stockwood Land 2 Ltd to a residential property tribunal after surveyors found defects in the five-storey building.

The owners of the 1960s former office block must complete the works by June.

No one from Stockwood Land 2 attended the hearing.

A fire risk assessment found several measures need to be taken to ensure the property was safety.

Orchard House was extended and converted into 54 self-contained apartments five years ago, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

The tribunal panel's decision, published on 15 January following a remote hearing in November, said the leaseholders each filed a separate application for a remediation order under the Building Safety Act.

Their cases were heard together as they related to the same issues.

The decision report said that they bought their flats in 2018 and 2019 respectively and both still lived there.

The document said a fire risk appraisal of external walls (FREAW) assessment carried out by surveyors concluded the infill panels above the windows to the East block and spandrel panels at the Link block with non-combustible materials need to be replaced.

The tribunal report said: "Given the findings within the FRAEW we are satisfied that the defects have caused and continue to cause a 'building safety risk'."

The panel issued a remediation order requiring the works.

The company is registered as owning the freehold to Orchard House, opposite the entrance to Brislington Park & Ride in Stockwood Road, since April 2022.