Dear Ms Parkes,
Thank you for your Freedom of Information Act request reference 172041. I apologise for the delay in responding.
You asked;
Please provide details of the warranty relating to the estate-widewindow upgrade at Cressingham Gardens Estate, some years ago.
I am led to believe there is a long warranty in relation to thewindows themselves, but the installation was only guaranteed for ayear.
(i) Please clarify if there is a distinction between the two, andif so, confirm the length of the correspondingwarranties/guarantees.
(ii) Is this an explanation for why a glazing company other thanthe company which won the contract for the installation, is nowcarrying out the repairs to the defects? If not, what is the explanation for the attendance of this other company?
(iii) Are these repairs being paid for by taxpayers, or by theoriginal company? I ask this mindful of the fact that leaseholderswere charged well in excess of the market rate for the works on their individual properties, and presumably the council paidsimilarly inflated amounts for the tenanted properties to have newwindows, and one would expect an absolutely top class job for thatprice. We really should not be paying a second time, albeitindirectly, for repairs to correct the original apparently poorworkmanship.
Please find the information you requested below.
- We do not have any records of this window installation programme and so we are unable to confirm the length of the warranties/guarentees. We know from other similar programmes that different parts of the installation will be warranted for different periods. A typical warranty will last for 10 years and will cover locking mechanisms; sealed double glazed units etc. and this warranty will be provided by the manufacturer. Seals to widows and fixings will be warranted by the installer and a minimum period would be one year defects covered under the building contract.
- Repairs to existing windows will be covered under our general repairs contract for all tenanted properties and these contracts have responsibility for all repairs, not just those for windows. Work is sub contracted to various specialist companies and it is very likely that repairs to existing window installations will be carried out by a company other than that which installed them.
- Repairs are paid for by the Council through the housing revenue account which is not funded by taxpayers but by rents and service charges. Where a defect can be assigned to faulty products or installation then we would seek to get these costs back from the manufacturer or installer.
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Thank you for your interest in Lambeth Council.
Yours sincerely
Clive Wilson
Housing Investment Manager
Strategy & Regeneration
Lambeth Housing, Regeneration & Environment
3rd Floor, Hambrook House
Porden Road, Brixton
London SW2 5RW
Lambeth– the cooperative council
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