Victoria Square: Minister wants to end 'unfair disparity'
New legislation to provide more protection for the owners of defective properties is to be brought forward.
Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said the move would end the "unfair disparity" between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Owners of the Victoria Square apartments were forced to vacate their city centre homes in 2019 due to safety fears about the building's structure.
In March their bid for compensation was struck out by the High Court.
The owners were told their case could not advance because, under the current law, claims must be made within six years of a building being completed.
In England and Wales, the timeframe is 30 years.
The companies involved in construction and fitting out of the apartments deny liability.
Addressing the Stormont Assembly on Monday, Mr Lyons said a proposed new bill would introduce provisions to change the time limit to include a retrospective period up to 30 years.
Help people across Northern Ireland - minister
The minister said it would be inappropriate to comment on live legal proceedings around Victoria Square which but said the case "acutely highlighted the disparity" between Northern Ireland and other parts of the UK.
He added that he was bringing forward the legislation to "help people across Northern Ireland".
Mr Lyons said: "I am pleased to announce today that I intend to bring to the assembly, as a matter of urgency, legislation to provide the same protection associated with defective premises for citizens in Northern Ireland as afforded elsewhere in the UK."
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) assembly member said he would be seeking the support of other executive ministers to fast-track the new legislation.
"Given the urgency, I am writing to executive colleagues today to seek their support and approval to introduce new legislation under the accelerated passage process," he said.
"This primary legislation will address the period under which action can be taken with regard to defective buildings and addresses the unfair disparity that currently exists and disadvantages our people."
Mr Lyons said he could not give an "exact timeline on how quickly this can be progressed" but he wanted to move "as quickly as possible".
SDLP MLA Matthew O'Toole and leader of the Opposition, whose south Belfast constituency takes in the Victoria Square complex, welcomed the minister's statement.
The SDLP's Colm Gildernew, who chairs of the communities scrutiny committee also welcomed the minister's statement.
He said the committee has received correspondence from those impacted by the Victoria Square apartments issues.
Mr Gildernew told the minister: "We as a committee will want to work with you to ensure that we can do all we can to provide the support and the redress that they need."
TUV leader Jim Allister said Mr Lyons "rather avoided" a question from the SDLP's Matthew O'Toole on whether the Victoria Square residents would be able to renew their legal action as a result of the proposed bill.
Will the legislation help Victoria Square Apartment owners?
TUV leader Jim Allister said Mr Lyons "rather avoided" a question from the Matthew O'Toole on whether the Victoria Square residents would be able to renew their legal action as a result of the proposed bill.
Mr Allister asked the minister: "Will the legislation contain express provision to enable actions struck out for limitation infringement to be re-litigated?"
Mr Lyons responded: "I am not going to comment or get involved in ongoing matters. It would be inappropriate for me to get involved in the specifics of that."
He said he hoped the details would "become apparent to the member when the legislation is produced, what exactly that will do".
'Substantial structural failure'
An interim report, seen by BBC News NI, looked at the structural failures which claimed a column was "constructed using concrete that was understrength by some 75%".
The findings suggested a dozen other columns are also understrength, although to a lesser degree.
The authors said the failings posed "a serious health and safety issue", but stressed the need for further tests.
Ninety-one properties were evacuated five years ago as a result of the safety concerns, after cracks started appearing in the walls in what was described as "a serious and substantial structural failure" of a column.
Residents of the building have been paying rates since, but Land & Property Services (LPS) has now announced owners will no longer be liable.
The total amount to be refunded is £170,000.
Owners had their bid for compensation struck out by the High Court earlier this month.
The evidence presented as part of that case has allowed LPS officials to determine the properties can be removed from the Valuation List.
It has also been confirmed that any arrears will be written off.
This amounts to £396,000 in unpaid rates.
Legal action for the non payment of rates in the past has now been permanently suspended.
What happened at Victoria Square?
March 2008: Victoria Square opens in Belfast city centre. It includes retail stores, restaurants, an underground car park and a residential block of 91 apartments
February 2019: Sudden damage is reported at two apartments caused by the failure of a concrete structural column
April 2019: Residential development evacuated because of safety concerns
July 2019: First temporary propping put in place to support failed column
July 2021: Investigations into structural failure raise concerns about defects at the building
March 2024: Belfast High Court strikes out residents' compensation claim because the legal action was not taken within six years of the building being completed
