{"id":125763,"date":"2024-03-21T16:00:56","date_gmt":"2024-03-21T16:00:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2024\/03\/21\/victoria-square-apartment-owners-will-not-pay-rates-minister-says\/"},"modified":"2024-03-21T16:00:56","modified_gmt":"2024-03-21T16:00:56","slug":"victoria-square-apartment-owners-will-not-pay-rates-minister-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2024\/03\/21\/victoria-square-apartment-owners-will-not-pay-rates-minister-says\/","title":{"rendered":"Victoria Square apartment owners will not pay rates, minister says"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Land and Property Services (LPS) will not issue rates bills to owners of the defective Victoria Square apartments this year, Stormont’s finance minister has said.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Residents were told to leave them in 2019 due to structural issues.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Despite being unable to return, they have continued to pay rates, a service charge and in some cases, mortgages.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Some residents told the BBC despite asking for a rates exemption they had been turned down.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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On Thursday, Caoimhe Archibald said legal action over unpaid rates had also been “paused” by LPS.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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It is responsible for the management, issuing and collection of rates in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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She said all ministers were “deeply concerned” about the plight of the residents and were working to reach a solution.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“LPS have put a stop on bills being issued for the new rating year and a pause also on legal action for the non-payment of rates so we are trying to identify a way forward,” she added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“All of us recognise the unfairness that there seems to be and we are working with LPS to find a way forward.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Former residents Karen and Terry Priestly, who have been facing court action over unpaid rates, said the development is “welcome news”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Owners of the apartments recently had their bid for compensation struck out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In Northern Ireland such claims must be made within six years of a building being completed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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There have been calls for new legislation to bring Northern Ireland in line with England and Wales, where owners of properties found to be defective have 30 years to make a claim.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Communities Minister Gordon Lyons confirmed his department would take on responsibility for the issue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
    \n
  • Residents told to vacate Belfast building<\/li>\n
  • Apartment owner ‘had to ask parents to pay bills’<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
    \n

    Ways of helping the residents were also raised at a meeting of executive ministers on Thursday.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    On Wednesday, the first and deputy first ministers said they were happy to meet the owners of the apartments in the complex.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    Michelle O’Neill said it was a “traumatising time” for people, and Emma Little-Pengelly said she was keen to take urgent action to support owners.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Meanwhile, BBC News NI understands it would cost millions of pounds to repair the defective Victoria Square apartments.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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    Multiple sources have indicated to the BBC that they can be repaired but it is not clear who would be responsible for the cost.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n

    It is understood the bill would not be expected to run into the tens of millions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

    \n
    \n
      \n
    • Ministers ‘happy to meet’ defective flat owners<\/li>\n
    • Victoria Square apartment owners’ spirits crushed<\/li>\n
    • Terminally ill apartment owner wants day in court<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
      \n

      The management company is Victoria Square (Chichester Street) Residential Management Limited.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      \n

      BBC News NI posed a number of questions to the company relating to the management of the apartments since residents moved out.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      \n

      It said there is a significant amount of work carried out on a regular basis to ensure the building is maintained, including weekly checks of common areas and every apartment in the building.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      \n

      There is also regular testing of fire and intruder alarm systems.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      \n

      A statement through the company’s solicitor said the costs incurred in relation to maintaining the building were “essential”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      \n

      It said this was “in order to maintain the insurance of the building, to monitor the building for the purpose of public safety, and to ensure that the apartments are ready for re-occupation by owners, if and when a solution is determined for the structural issues within the residential development”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      \n

      “These costs are billed to the apartment owners as service charge.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      \n

      The company also said it has facilitated inspections by the fire service, Land & Property Services, building’s insurers and consultants who are involved in the investigation of the structural damage and potential strategy for repairs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      \n

      The statement continued: “None of the the apartments are habitable due to the absence of heating and full water supply. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      \n

      “A number of the apartments are directly affected by the large steel propping system which was installed May 2019 as a safety measure to stabilise a partially failed structural column in the residential development.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

      \n

      “The estimated costs of completing the overall repair are significant given the technical nature of the work involved.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Land and Property Services (LPS) will not issue rates bills to owners of the defective Victoria Square apartments this year, Stormont’s finance minister has said. Residents were told to leave them in 2019 due to structural issues. Despite being unable to return, they have continued to pay rates, a service charge and in some cases, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[43],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-125763","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-russia-ukraine-war"],"yoast_head":"\nVictoria Square apartment owners will not pay rates, minister says - Tahrir News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/tahrir2day.com\/news\/2024\/03\/21\/victoria-square-apartment-owners-will-not-pay-rates-minister-says\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Victoria Square apartment owners will not pay rates, minister says\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Land and Property Services (LPS) will not issue rates bills to owners of the defective Victoria Square apartments this year, Stormont’s finance minister has said. 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