381 Southwark Park Road RTM Company Ltd & Ors v Click St Andrews Ltd & Anor [2024] EWHC 3569

Brief

This case concerns a residential building at 381 Southwark Park Road, London, built in the early 2000s. It comprises fourteen leasehold flats across four storeys, constructed with unreinforced masonry, precast concrete floors, and a timber trussed roof supported by reinforced concrete ground beams.

In 2020, the residents’ RTM company and ten leaseholders entered a Freehold Purchase Agreement (FPA) with the developer an SPV (now in liquidation) and its parent company to add three modular penthouse units atop the building. This required removing the original roof and installing a steel transfer structure.

On 25 July 2021, the modular units were craned into place after a temporary corrugated steel roof was removed. However, amber weather warnings for rain and thunderstorms were active that week. Construction continued under stormy conditions but was halted due to lightning risks. Water ingress during this period damaged several flats, forcing residents to vacate.

The claimants alleged the developer failed to adequately protect the building during roof removal, leading to damage. They brought claims for breach of contract under the FPA, negligence, nuisance, and breach of statutory duty under section 2A of the Defective Premises Act (DPA), citing structural and fire safety defects. A Building Liability Order (BLO) under section 130 of the Building Safety Act (BSA) was also sought against the parent company.

What we did

Philip Ebbatson, Technical Director, was instructed by Adam Benedict Limited to provide expert structural engineering opinion regarding the modular penthouse extension and resulting water damage from the July 2021 storms. His site inspection and report, supported by photographs, focused on risk allocation under the building contract and structural adequacy of the steel transfer structure.

Concerns were raised about the ability of the original masonry to support concentrated loads from the new steelwork. The HKA Building Structures team, under Mr Ebbatson’s direction, identified deficiencies in the support locations and inadequacies in the original masonry piers subjected to additional loading..

Mr Ebbatson presented oral evidence in the High Court of Justice of England and Wales, Technology and Construction Court (TCC), which in December 2024 found a “relevant liability” under the Building Safety Act 2022 (BSA), enabling a Building Liability Order (BLO) against the parent company. BLOs aim to prevent developers from avoiding liability by dissolving SPVs post-construction.

His expert testimony helped the court assess the structural integrity of the works. Mr Michael Levenstein of Gatehouse Chambers, instructed by Adam Benedict Limited, acted for the claimant.

Outcomes

Philip Ebbatson’s testimony supported a resounding victory for 381 Southwark Park Road RTM Company Limited and various claimant leaseholders, against a major rooftop developer, “Click”, operating as the Click Group of Companies. The judgment is of historical importance because Click’s various breaches gave rise to the first ever High Court finding of a “relevant liability” under s130 of the Building Safety Act 2022 (which concerns the High Court’s ability to make Building Liability Orders against a body corporate) as a result of a “building safety risk”.  The ruling confirms that findings of liability for building safety can potentially extend beyond the original developer to include associated companies.