Fælledby will demolish two almost-finished buildings with 172 newly built apartments on Amager Fælled, cancelling all purchase and rental contracts before anyone moved in.
The decision was confirmed on September 9, and it ends the housing plans of buyers who had already signed contracts. DR reports that the two buildings were to contain both owner-occupied and rental apartments. None of the 172 homes was ever occupied.
Among the affected buyers are Casper Bech and Amalia Lund. Per DR, they bought a 112 square meter apartment in Amager Fælled in August last year for 5.7 million kroner. Their move-in date was pushed back several times before the project was scrapped.
Buildings written off as total losses
According to Estate Media, a technical review found construction errors so serious that the two buildings are considered total losses. That conclusion led to the decision to tear them down rather than repair them.
Fælledby chairman Henrik Steenstrup told DR in an email that the company had not expected to end up in this situation. As stated by Steenstrup, the investigations took time, but the developer is responsible for delivering a sound product. According to the company’s advisers, that was not possible.
Bech says the couple raised the possibility of demolition at several residents’ meetings. He told DR they asked whether the project could end like Njals Tårn, the troubled high-rise on Amager, and that Fælledby denied it. He says they were left with the impression that defects were being repaired.
Compensation disputed
Fælledby says it has contacted all affected owners and tenants with offers of compensation. Steenstrup told DR that price increases were taken into account, with independent valuations made of each home, its purchase date and general price growth in the area. He said two real estate agencies provided valuations that form the basis of the payments.
Bech did not disclose the exact sum the couple is being offered, but says they are not satisfied. According to him, the amount does not match the price increases on comparable apartments since their purchase. He estimates the offer falls short by around half a million kroner.
The couple sold their andelslejlighed when they bought in Fælledby. They now rent a one-room apartment in Kastrup that is soon to be sold, a place they had intended to use only temporarily. Bech says their housing contract was terminated with immediate effect, leaving them outside the housing market they had already entered.
Bech describes the outcome as a form of grief and calls the handling of the case deeply questionable. He told DR the couple does not know whether they can now afford anything similar.
