LEEDS REPAIR / SHAW REPAIR ARE THEY LICENSED

Please could you give me some advice. I bought my ex council property
> > under right to buy scheme and was issued with a letter from my council to
> > confirm that it had been repaired via the leed system , although they had
> > lost the certificate. They have now informed me that it was not done via
> > leeds system but by the shaw method of repair. They still have no
> > certificate. please could you advise me whether this is a suitable repair
> > method and whether it is as good as the leeds system.

Hi
Jen, from what I can gather a Leeds repair is a recognised licenced
repair that mortgage companies will accept, ie. It is a good repair, it
should be mortgageable. I can find no mortgage company that recognises
a Shaw repair, this is likely to make it less valuable. Did you have
any trouble getting a mortgage for yours. I am not an expert but I
would think that the value of one with an unrecognised repair is worth
quite a bit less than one with a Leeds repair. Can you tell what the
repair actually involved. Does the house still have all its concrete
slabs on, has it had any insulation, do you know if it is still
supported (held up with) concrete pillars, do you still have the
concrete uprights going through the windows? Also when did you buy it,
there might be recourse with the council if they have misled you in
your purchase. Airey houses are a minefield and councils are usually
unhelpful, they are just glad to off load these homes, we believe we
were missold ours but it was so long ago solicitors think our window of
opportunity to 'get the council' has passed. Please get back to me and
we can talk from there, thanks

After investigations today i've found the shaw system is not a licensed repair and the property is still defective. Please look at the link / i think i've found a company that can help. Contact lifestyle through the links they are lovely people and can offer all the information you need, they will visit your premise and give you an indepth survey if you need one.

Thanx for that. I purchased my house 6 years ago and obtained my mortgage based on the info from the council to confirm that the leeds system had been used. When I came to sell in 2007 I contacted the council for a copy of the letter, confirming the leeds system of repair . At this stage the council apologised and advised me to see a solicitor, as the work had not been carried out and a mistake had been made. The sale was halted and I saw a solicitor. The council then decided that the house had been repaired but by the shaw system rather than the leeds, although they could not prove this. They went on to say that it was up to me to get an engineers report to prove them at fault. They knew that i couldnt afford to do this. The council paid my £2000 solicitors bill and said that they cant do anything else for me. The appearance of my house is pebbledashed. This was done in the 80s. After reading info on the shaw system of repair it seems like it was intended to be just a temporary measure to prolong the life of the property by just 20 years. I am now stuck with a house that I cannot afford to repair and 20 years left to pay on my mortgage.

Sorry to hear that Jen, seems like we've all been stiched up but these houses are in demand for developers, Give lifestyle a ring on FREEPHONE 0845 6522724 talk to Mark or Steve they may well be able to help you. What have you got to lose, Please mention this forum when contacting lifestyle. Seems to me that the shaw system is a posh word for a ring beam, these beams consist of shuttering the inside and outside wall. Perhaps add some re-inforcing steel called(rebar) then poring in concrete. These beam can vary from 18 inches high to 3 feet high or even full height of the walls in some cases but it is not a licensed repair and still leaves the property defective.

I can't beleive councils are still aloud to do this, there must be hundreds or thousands of people like us getting stitched up by the councils, if enough of us could get together maybe we could do something...... I wonder if you could argue about the value they sold you it at,how much did they charge not including any discount you had earnt as a tenant? as far as I am aware a house with the Shaw repair is still a defective property (much less saleable and less valuable) a home with a recognised repair (Licenced) is much easier to mortgage, no longer defective (although perhaps still a non traditional build)and is therefor more valuable. You could check to see what other ex-local authority houses in the area were fetching at the time you bought yours. Did you pay full market value for a defective property. I think you have as they told you it had been a licensed repair. It turns out it's not a licensed repair so therefor you was mis-sold your property. THIS IS MY OPINION I'M NOT A LEGAL EXPERT.

Hi, I also believe that I have been mis sold the property. There are 5 other similar houses on my street. Each tenant has attempted to buy over the last 10 years, and been informed by the council that they have not been repaired to a mortgagable standard. Apparantly, the guy who gave me the wrong info has now left but "He acted in good faith" (bless him)! It's good to know that there are people out there that understand as I have previously found very little info on the subject. I have spoken to Mark at Lifestyle. Very helpful man.

Hi again, I have checked out the prices of house sales for brick built houses in my village and they were all in a similar price bracket to what I was quoted as the full market value ( before tenant reduction) . Sorry for hijacking your post but you were overcharged (ADMIN)

Hi Jen were all in this position , i would like to build up a big group of fellow airey house owners and turn up in London and get hold of the housing minister and give em some grief. Failing this i may e-mail DOM LITTLEWOOD, (dont get dun get dom) and see if he can help us. If you would like a private chat with me or my wife i can PM my phone number all you have to do is ask. Reguards BILL

Make sure a PRC firm ARE actually licensed and CAN provide a 60 year structural guarantee. The only one so far (due to having the gaurantee in front of me for my house) was with landmarkprc. The rest tend to be a little on the shy side regarding those kind of details.
I went through 14 prc companies of which very few are left. To reduce it further very few had convincing testimonials I could actually phone up and SEE the results of the properties. Enough said on those companies. In the end it was only one company that didn't make me nervous and that was landmarkprc. As they answered and could show me other clients who are very happy with their PRC repair.

It sounds like I am hyping them up but I know what I went through and parting with alot of money which is risky... just dont want you to make the wrong choices or end up on the program Builders from hell. (I wont mention the swindon company) ;0)

In terms of payments the best approach is

If you have the cash.

Partial payments per stage.
Stage 1 extended foundations - half insulted,half way up brick.
Stage 2 Completed Brick.
Stage 3 Windows,doors,canopy etc ORIGINAL PRC Guarantee (dont be palmed off with a photocopy in law they dont hold anything

I found landmarkprc helpful there at least it was a compromise instead of cash upfront (yeah right) lol

If its a mortgage the process can be basically the same arrangement with your lender.

Anyway I hope this is helpful. You can email or PM me anytime I will leave my number if you need any free advice. (6 months of living,research and finally an actual PRC repair).