A young entrepreneur who rented out flats in a stylish area of Leeds took his own life as he faced huge bills due to the UK cladding scandal.
Tom Mansell, 37, has been named as the first suicide victim linked to the safety crisis after the Grenfell Tower fire.
He began building his property empire at the age of just 21 with the backing of his dad, Neil.
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Tom owned several homes across the city and added to his portfolio by borrowing money to buy four flats in the stylish Leeds Dock area, reports the Mirror.
But, to his horror, he discovered after the 2017 Grenfell Tower disaster that apartment blocks there were sheathed in flammable cladding.
A family friend said worry over the likelihood of six-figure remediation costs and rising insurance premium was a “significant factor” in Tom's death.
He faced an estimated bill of £50,000 for just one of his rental flats.
"Tom was a smiling, cheerful and bubbly personality, who was caring and compassionate, and led life to the full," said the close friend.
"But the burden of so many unexpected bills, along with all the doubt and uncertainty, overwhelmed him."
Campaigners fighting for justice for the three million owners of fire-risk flats claim there have been at least three suicides linked to the scandal during the past 18 months.
In one building where Tom owned a home, La Salle, annual insurance premiums across the whole block, containing 210 flats, rocketed from £36,000 to £286,000.
Service charges for leaseholders also soared to cover the cost of waking watch fire patrols, friends said.
As his debts mounted, Tom became desperate to sell off the flats.
"The cladding crisis made that impossible," said the friend.
"His city centre properties became undesirable, with massive service charges and uncertainty over the costs and timing of fixing fire risks.
"He was left in limbo with huge costs and worthless properties.
"The burden of uncertainty eventually overwhelmed him. It was a significant factor in his death."
Tom was found at his home last December. An inquest in May heard he had battled with depression. The verdict was suicide.
His death stunned those who knew him. He had worked with cancer charity Macmillan and delivered food parcels to the homes of vulnerable people during the pandemic.
His father Neil, 71, said: "I’m very proud of Tom as a caring, compassionate, warm and friendly person. That will always be my lasting memory of him."
More than four years on from the Grenfell tower fire in North Kensington, West London, that killed 72 inhabitants, up to three million people are still living in fire-risk flats.
Many face crippling repair bills, in some cases working out at more than £200,000 per household.
Leaseholders in Leeds Dock have staged protests over the building safety scandal.
Six towers there were found to have flammable cladding, missing fire breaks and with timber balconies.
Work has yet to begin to make them fireproof with government funding still to be signed off. And if the Tories' £5billion Building Safety Fund does not bail them out, owners could possibly face bills of £50,000 upwards to cover the repairs.
Connor Scherer, from LIV Group which manages La Salle and three other Leeds Dock blocks, said: "Mr Mansell’s passing was a tragedy and we extend our deepest condolences to his loved ones.
"We recognise the pressures the ongoing cladding crisis is having on leaseholders across the country.
"This is why we are working very closely with the freeholder, the property owner, and the leaseholders to find a solution for the remediation work required on the La Salle building which contains 210 units. Work there is estimated at £11.5million.
"The building is already technically eligible for the Government’s Building Safety Fund, and we are at the next stage of the application process to determine the scope of the Government’s support."
Tom died five months after La Salle’s managing agents submitted an application for the Building Safety Fund.
Leaseholders were only told by housing ministers in April – four months after his death – that their homes were "technically eligible" for funding. This knowledge may have helped prevent Tom’s tragedy, but even now homeowners do not know how much they may be entitled to – and if it will cover all repairs.
With developers, freeholders and the Government squabbling over who should pay to make homes safe, innocent leaseholders face having to pick up the bill. Those affected are already having to cough up more than £2billion a year to cover insurance hikes and fire marshal patrols.
In February this year the Conservatives made a promise to "fully fund" replacing unsafe cladding on all buildings over 18 metres high.
New Housing and Communities Secretary Michael Gove described Tom’s death as a tragedy.
He said: "My sincere sympathies go to Tom Mansell’s family and friends. The pain of losing a loved one is immense, and to do so in such heartbreaking circumstances is unimaginable.
"Everyone should be safe in their homes and leaseholders must be protected from unnecessary costs.
"As a new Secretary of State in a new department I am looking afresh at our work in this area to ensure that we are doing everything we can to support those affected."
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But this has come too late for Tom and his family and friends. And fears are growing that there may be more tragedies to come. A survey by Which? in July questioned 1,700 leaseholders about the impact on their mental health.
Almost all said the cladding crisis had a "fairly negative" or "negative" effect.
Campaign group End Our Cladding Scandal said increasing numbers were seeking out support from GPs.
A spokesman said: "Our heart goes out to Tom’s family and friends – words cannot fully express the devastation we felt when we heard this tragic news.
"The constant fear and anxiety of living in an unsafe building simply cannot be overstated.
"In June 2020, a mental health survey found that nearly a quarter of people felt suicidal or had a desire to self-harm. “More than a year later, we fear the catastrophic impact of this crisis on the mental health of innocent leaseholders is still not recognised or understood by the Government."
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