Residents at Wales’ tallest residential building are being advised not to pay a huge maintenance bill to bring the structure up to fire safety standards.
Over 200 leaseholders at Meridian Quay development in Swansea were asked to pay for the work after surveyors found issues with fireproofing.
Swansea Council submitted a £5m Improvement Notice to Meridian Quay Management Company, the costs of which are being passed on to the apartment owners.
The amount being asked for depends on the relative size of the apartment - £12,296 for a one-bed, £21,435 for a two-bed and £39,379 for a three-bed flat.
The now-defunct Carillion built the tower, which was completed in 2009 before the company went bust in 2018.
Martin Scott, of Leeds-based law firm Walker Morris is now advising the 23 residents he represents that they should not be liable for any of the costs, and should hold off paying until a ruling on a similar case from Manchester, which is being heard at the Court of Appeal next week.
“I had a resident call me in tears saying: ‘why are we getting demands from the management company when we’re insured?’.
“The management company are trying their best to get it sorted but it’s easier to get the leaseholders to write a cheque now that the local authority is putting pressure on them.
“They’ve got themselves into a headlock with the insurers and are now threatening legal proceedings on their own clients.
“The leaseholders are entitled to 100 per cent recovery of repair costs they face without deduction and any settlement less than that would be a travesty,” he said.
The homes were all covered by a 10-year insurance policy, which is due to expire at the end of 2019.
“It’s like taking a car insurance policy and going for repairs from an accident and being told we only pay out 50p in the pound,” Mr Scott added.
The insurer, East-West Insurance Company, said it is “working closely” with the management company to “address the building defects,” according to a BBC report.
“We are unable to comment on the financial figures, as costs for the required works have not yet been finalised,” they told the BBC.
The same report also showed the management company, CRM, unsuccessfully applied to the Welsh Government for help in funding the necessary repairs.
CRM was asked to comment about Mr Scott's advice to residents.
Previously, the Welsh Government said it would "monitor this issue carefully".
A spokesman said: "Developers and freeholders should be putting building defects right without passing costs on to leaseholders."
