Terminally-ill resident of defective flat complex calls for Stormont law change

By David Young (PA)

A terminally-ill woman forced to leave her Belfast apartment due to a major structural defect has called on Stormont to extend a statutory time limit to enable residents to take a compensation claim.

Last week, a legal bid by the owners of the Victoria Square apartments was struck out in Belfast High Court after the judge ruled it fell outside the terms of existing legislation that requires claims to be made within six years of the property’s construction.

The case had been taken against architects involved in the design and two building companies. All deny any liability.

Mr Justice Huddleston did not allow the case to proceed due to the claim being taken outside the statutory timeframe.

Residents had to leave the apartments in 2019 after a defect was identified in a structural column. They have been unable to return yet are still subject to paying certain bills, such as rates, for their properties.

A charity, Ulster Garden Villages, owns 54 of the 91 apartments in Victoria Square. The remaining properties are owned by individuals.

After the case was struck out, Assembly members have faced calls to change the law to extend the statutory time limit to 30 years.

The construction of the apartments, which sit above the Victoria Square shopping complex, was completed in 2008.

The limit for claims was extended from six years to 30 years in England and Wales two years ago.

Apartment owner Denise Patrick, who has terminal cancer, has expressed fear she will not live to see the full case heard in court.

In an interview with the Nolan Show on BBC Radio Ulster, the 68-year-old demanded action from local politicians to amend the relevant legislation.

“Get on with it,” she said.

“Because shame on you if you let us down. Shame on you if I die and I don’t get my moment where you have done what you can and, if the court case fails, at least we were there. But shame on you if you don’t get your act together.

“Because you have sat there in your homes and I have moved around Belfast. I’ll get confused with my postcode.”

She added: “I will never live in my home again and I will probably die in somebody else’s, and it’s not my fault.”

Last week, Stormont Finance Minister Caoimhe Archibald met with Land and Property Services (LPS) to discuss the issue around the residents being charged rates on the defective apartments.

Residents of apartments at the Victoria Square complex in Belfast were told to vacate the building. Picture by Mal McCann Residents of apartments at the Victoria Square complex in Belfast were told to vacate the building (Picture by Mal McCann)