A hole in the ceiling in the downstairs flat

A BANNER telling both Labour and the Conservatives that they are letting people down on housing has been removed for fear it will do more damage to ‘nightmare new builds’ in Camden Town.

Dan Bruce’s message had been pinned to a block in Agar Grove where he had bought the top floor flat for £800,000.

It wasn’t long before cracks – quite literally – started to show.

The brick facade on Mr Bruce’s new build is pulling away from the internal frame, water damage has caused beams and bars in the ceilings to rot and rust, and the walls bend and shake when lorries drive past.

The defects have only got worse with time.

Charlie Clinton with Dan Bruce

On Tuesday, he was visited by Charlie Clinton, the Liberal Democrat candidate in Holborn and St Pancras.

“Why can’t Keir Starmer visit it in his own constituency?,” he said.

“This is a systemic problem in the building industry. We absolutely need to build more homes, but they need to meet minimum standards or there is zero point.

“Dan’s situation shows that our society is so unjust that even someone with the time, willpower and resources to fight back can still be broken by it.”

Mr Bruce and other neighbours have spent more than £350k in legal fees trying to get compensation, including from the developer, the contractor – who actually built the flats – and the warranty provider, but they have had no luck so far.

The software developer has become a ‘full time activist’, although the banner had to come down for safety reasons.

Mr Bruce said: “I don’t sleep, I don’t do anything other than [fight]. I’ve lost everything. At first I was terrified of the defects, but I’ve had to come to terms with them just for the sake of my own sanity.

“What nobody realises when they’re buying a home is that if your home is damaged and it’s going to be an expensive claim, there isn’t really a law to protect you.”

An engineer has described the building as unfit for purpose and suggested that demolition could be the best solution.

He said the outgoing levelling up secretary Michael Gove had visited and Mr Starmer had emailed, but nothing more had materialised.

Mr Bruce added that in the absence of new building regulations, the government should strengthen consumer rights for homebuyers.

“I think in the housing crisis we’ve been divided and conquered,” he said.

“But the reality is, whether it’s fire safety or defective new builds, whether it’s mouldy council homes or a defective penthouse, they stem from the same inherent issue, and that is that we’re not building safe, affordable, high quality homes.”

For Mr Clinton, the fact that Holborn and St Pancras is considered such a safe Labour seat is part of the problem.

“I hope that Keir Starmer will see his vote share going backwards and he will have to pay more attention to his constituents going forward,” he said.

A spokesperson from Acasta, Mr Bruce’s warranty providers, said: “Acasta remains committed to fulfilling its obligations under the relevant insurance policies in respect of the owners of the apartments at 53 Agar Grove.

“We continue to engage with the relevant owners regarding progression and resolution of this matter.”