Sinn Féin MP John Finucane has urged parties to work together in the Assembly to urgently close a legal loophole which is preventing homeowners at Victoria Square claiming compensation for their defective properties.

The North Belfast MP said:

“It is absolutely cruel that many people are still paying crippling costs and, in some cases, now in serious debt for an apartment they cannot live in for their own safety.

“This is the situation facing homeowners at Victoria Square apartments, who five years after being evacuated from homes, are still incurring huge costs for mortgages, rates, maintenance for a building they have no access to.

“People bought these apartments in good faith, and to discover that they are unsafe to live in through no fault of their own, has been deeply traumatic and stressful for those impacted.

“The period in which compensation claims for property defects can be made is significantly shorter than the rest of these islands and given that the defects in these homes were discovered after the six-year limit, homeowners have been left high and dry with no support from developers.

“That is unacceptable. All parties must urgently work together in the Assembly to legislate to close the legal loophole which has cut people off from claiming compensation.

“Exploring every possible avenue to ensure people are eligible claim to financial compensation is a crucial step in helping families and homeowners whose lives have been destroyed by this ordeal.”