'Why should we pay to fix unsafe fire doors?'

Residents living in flats built 10 years ago have been told their fire doors are no longer compliant, and they must foot the bill to fix them.

The first homes on Taylor Wimpey's Northfield View development off Bury Road, in Stowmarket, Suffolk, were constructed between 2017 and 2019.

Earlier this year, inspectors from Norwich Residential Management Ltd (NRM) visited the site and ruled that fire doors in some of the properties were not up to standard.

Homeowners have told the BBC that Taylor Wimpey should pay for the defects to be fixed, not them, but the firm said it was no longer responsible for the properties.

One of the first residents to move to the then-new development was 49-year-old Wayne Callaghan, who purchased his property in 2019.

At that time, he said that "all the fire doors had been inspected, and everything appeared to be fine", but inspectors had recently said they were "completely invalid".

"We've never been told the doors were faulty or incorrectly fitted or wouldn't do the job that they were supposed to do," he said.

"They said they would not offer the 30 to 40 minutes protection they're supposed to, and they need to be changed, which could cost hundreds if not thousands," he said.

"To find out this way obviously is a bit galling and [to be told] we have to pay for it when they should be under a guarantee is difficult.

"What we do understand is the doors should be under a 10-year guarantee, but they're just telling us that these will need to be done at our own expense."

In a letter sent to Callaghan and seen by the BBC, the NRM said that its inspectors identified "several recurring compliance issues" that required remedial works.

They raised concerns about the doors' seals and hinges and the size of the door frames, which created gaps and needed to be fixed "to ensure proper fire stopping".

The inspection came after the introduction of new fire safety regulations in 2022, after 70 people died following a fire at Grenfell Tower in London, in 2017.

"The inspectors told us the doors would not offer the 30 to 40 minutes protection they're supposed to and they need to be changed," added Callaghan.

"As a parent and having my daughter here five nights out of seven, that's quite scary, and it's been seven years I've lived here without knowing this.

"Had there been a fire, they could have been a terrible, terrible accident. This falls on Taylor Wimpey – they fitted the doors, so they need to replace them."

According to the letter, residents at Northfield View have a year to fix their doors, or NRM will "enforce lease clauses to carry out works" before billing them for the works.

Chris Saunders, who has lived on the development since 2024, said it felt as if NRM had "chucked" the issue onto them and told them to "deal with it".

"I've had one quote from a company just to fix the door, and that was already over £1,000, which none of us want to pay when it's a problem we've inherited," he said.

"I can afford it, but that would pretty much be all of my savings gone to fix the door when it's not my fault that the doors aren't compliant.

"We're kind of just a bit confused how they ever got signed off in the first place."

Elsewhere in the letter, residents were told non-compliant fire doors "compromise the building's fire compartmentation strategy" and could prevent evacuation procedures.

They were also told that should a fire originate from or spread through their property due to non-compliant fire doors, they "may be held personally liable".

Saunders purchased his property more than a year after the new regulations were introduced, but said "nothing came up" about the doors not being up to standard.

Since January 2023, it has been a legal requirement for people living in all multi-occupied residential buildings in England to undertake checks of all fire doors and flat entrance doors that lead to communal areas.

"It doesn't feel great knowing none of our fire doors are adequate - we're massively at risk of losing all of our property and everything if something happened," he added.

Taylor Wimpey said it understood the issues were "frustrating for residents" but after the homes were built, responsibility for them was "passed to the managing agent".

"All properties were built in accordance with the building regulations applicable at the time," a spokesperson added.

"It is our understanding these issues relate to ongoing management and maintenance rather than construction and therefore fall outside the purview of Taylor Wimpey."

The NRM said nobody had been told they "must replace their front entrance door", but "minor maintenance matters" such as minor gap adjustments were identified.

"The doors in question are FD30-rated fire doors, installed in accordance with building regulations at the time of construction," a spokesperson said.

"[But] routine repairs and maintenance are the responsibility of the individual leaseholder.

"We are not in a position to comment on matters between residents and the developer or warranty provider."

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