We’re working to resolve some building issues we’ve identified at Rutland House, Derby.

This page was last updated on 8 January 2025.

Background

In February 2023, we wrote to you to announce the outcome of a fire risk assessment carried out to the external walls of your building.

We informed you that the assessment found the external fabric materials used, did not meet current safety standards. We indicated that action was needed to address and fix this issue. Additionally, there were other concerns to address, including roof repairs to stop leaks and other fire safety measures. We wrote to all customers in May 2024 with an update on those issues (you can read the letter here) and from our previous website portal update in August we would like to once again, provide a further update below.

What’s the latest? An update from Scott Barnett, Assistant Director of Building Safety 

The tender process to select a contractor to carry out the required works is currently in progress, and we hope to select a new contractor by early 2025.

It is estimated that the new contractor will take approximately six months to review the work required, which includes architectural design, engineering, and securing the proper planning permission. These works are expected to take up to a year to complete, with a projected completion of summer 2026.

We can confirm that no qualifying leaseholder will be asked to pay anything towards these remediation costs. If you are unsure if you are a qualifying leaseholder, or wish to read more about qualifying leases, please visit www.gov.uk/guidance/qualifying-date-qualifying-lease-and-extent.

In our previous update, we also let you know about the potential to secure Government funding from the Cladding Safety Scheme (CSS) to assist with covering the remediation costs. We are pleased that we can now confirm that Rutland House is eligible for this funding, and the CSS is expected to cover approximately 50% of the costs towards the required work required to your building.

The remaining 50% of costs towards the require work we aim to retrieve from the original contractors, Lindum Group, and Riverside has instructed Devonshires, our independent legal experts, to pursue this.

If we are unable to recover costs from the original contractor, we will explore alternative funding options.

Selling your home – EWS1 form

The External Wall System (EWS) process, and resulting certificate (EWS1), provides a way for building owners to prove that the external walls have been assessed and confirmed as safe by a qualified fire expert, in line with government guidance.

This certificate may be requested by tenants and owners who may be looking to sell their property. However, requirements can differ, and a compliant certificate can only be made available after all works have finished.

Following an additional appraisal (the Fire Risk Appraisal of the External Wall, or FRAEW) the certificate for Rutland House has been rated as ‘OPTION B2’. This means that remedial works are required.

Should you require any further information on this, please contact the team by email directly at [email protected].

For further information regarding the EWS1 form please click here.

Other issues

• Water: Our surveyors identified a fault with the water pump at Rutland House. We arranged for an urgent repair which took place on Thursday 31 October 2024. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation during this time and we can confirm that this fault has now been fixed and water should be running normally again.
• Car park: As we told you in our last update, we were working to resolve an issue with the car park shutter, which was broken due to vandalism. The shutter is now fixed, and fobs have been delivered to most customers. We are still working to address some supply issues, and the remaining fobs will be delivered to the remaining customers very soon. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience this has caused and hope there will be no further vandalism and security issues. To assist with this, please ensure the shutters are closed after use.

We hope this update is helpful. Please remember you can view regular updates on our progress at Rutland House on this page. You can contact us about the cladding issues at [email protected] and the Home Ownership team here.