I played football for Wales but the cladding scandal could bankrupt me
It was not until Brian Law received a £16,000 service charge demand for his buy-to-let that he realised the flat was wrapped in flammable cladding.
The former Welsh international footballer bought the flat in the Islington Gates development in Birmingham in 2005, after injury put an end to his career at age 30.
In 2020, he received a letter from Remus, the firm that manages the building, saying that it could cost thousands of pounds to fix the building's fire safety issues. It was then that he realised the asset that was supposed to help to fund his retirement had suddenly become a huge drain on his finances.
Five years later and the cladding work has cost Law and his wife, Jennifer, £37,000, plus the costs associated with three failed sales. In February 2024, Law handed over the keys to his bank in a voluntary repossession, having seen his debts reach £82,000.
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