{"url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-11-07/pa-housing-henrietta-close-fire-accommodation","markdown_url":"https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-11-07/pa-housing-henrietta-close-fire-accommodation.md","title":"PA Housing Ends Fire Residents' Temporary Accommodation Cover","headline":"PA Housing Stops Temporary Accommodation Costs for Henrietta Close Fire Residents After 18 Months","description":"PA Housing has stopped covering temporary accommodation for Henrietta Close fire residents after 18 months, citing insurer limits.","section":"Incidents","published_at":"2026-11-07T10:36:37+00:00","modified_at":"2026-11-07T10:36:37+00:00","author":"News Desk","key_takeaways":["PA Housing covered temporary accommodation for Henrietta Close residents for 18 months after the May 2025 fire before stopping.","PA Housing says its insurer confirmed the policy's temporary accommodation cover limits had been reached.","PA Housing plans to demolish and rebuild the Addlestone property by March 2028 and has offered to buy back residents' shares.","Catherine Baldwin, a shared owner since about 2016, says the situation has significantly affected her mental health."],"companies":[{"name":"PA Housing","is_primary":true,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/002q22l/pa-housing","website":"https://www.pahousing.co.uk"},{"name":"Zurich Insurance Group","is_primary":false,"profile_url":"https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0003th5/zurich-insurance-group","website":"http://www.zurich.com"}],"source":{"publisher":"BBC","title":"PA Housing backtracks on accommodation pledge after Surrey fire","url":"https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqkg514rjv44o"},"other_sources":[],"tags":["Incidents","PA Housing","Zurich Insurance Group"],"body_markdown":"PA Housing has stopped paying temporary accommodation costs for residents evacuated from its fire-hit Henrietta Close building in Addlestone, Surrey, after covering them for 18 months, the [BBC](https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cqkg514rjv44o) reported. The housing provider cited the limits of its insurance cover.\n\n## PA Housing's Rebuild Plan for Henrietta Close\n\n[PA Housing](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/002q22l/pa-housing) is a charitable Community Benefit Society that owns and manages more than 23,000 homes across the Midlands, London and South East England, according to akta.pro [company records](https://akta.pro/company-data). Residents of the flats lived there under a shared ownership scheme until a fire tore through the building in May 2025.\n\nIn letters seen by the BBC, PA Housing told resident Catherine Baldwin after the fire that it would \"continue to support you throughout your stay in temporary accommodation for as long as necessary until you can return home\". The provider later wrote that it \"couldn't have envisaged the extent of the remediation work needed until we had completed our structural investigations\", and said the properties would need to be demolished and rebuilt.\n\nPA Housing wrote again in March to say its insurer had \"confirmed that we have reached the limits of the cover in relation to temporary accommodation costs\". The letter said the demolition and rebuild would take until March 2028 and that the company could not afford to \"continue funding the cost of temporary accommodation indefinitely\".\n\nA PA Housing spokesperson said: \"Our hope was to fund this until homes were ready for reoccupation, which is why the promise was made.\" The spokesperson added: \"Our insurance provisions mean we can not continue to fund alternative accommodation beyond the initial 18 months.\" PA Housing said it had offered to buy back ownership shares in the affected properties and had gone \"significantly above our legal obligations\".\n\nSurrey Fire and Rescue Service said investigators determined the blaze started accidentally after a solar panel connector overheated. [Zurich Insurance Group](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0003th5/zurich-insurance-group), the insurer, said it \"recognises that this has been a very difficult situation\" and was \"committed to responding appropriately to any concerns raised\". A Zurich spokesperson said the insurer \"has worked with PA Housing and handled the claim in accordance with the terms, conditions and limits of the policy\".\n\n## What Residents Say About the Move\n\nCatherine Baldwin, 39, became a shared owner of her flat a decade ago but later had to stop work after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, according to her father, Andrew Baldwin. She was rescued from the property by passers-by who \"broke down the door\", he said.\n\nCatherine Baldwin told the BBC the \"unstable situation\" had \"affected my mental health significantly\" and was \"completely unfair\". She said: \"It's just further compounding the trauma that we've been through of a fire displacing us from our homes.\" Andrew Baldwin said his daughter fears she will be unable to get a mortgage for another property if she sells her share back to PA Housing because she is unable to work for health reasons.\n\n## The March 2028 Rebuild Deadline\n\nPA Housing's letter states that the planned demolition and rebuild of the Henrietta Close property will take until March 2028. The provider has offered to buy back residents' ownership shares in the affected properties.\n","publisher":{"name":"News for Agent","url":"https://newsforagent.com"}}