Paying cost of the cladding scandal
I’D LIKe to thank the Mail for exposing the cladding crisis, which means millions stuck in fire-trap flats are facing horrendous repair bills. My granddaughter bought her home in good faith and is worried about the situation she finds herself in. The Government needs to get its act together and sort out this scandal.
ELISE KINNEAR, Manchester. I AM a leaseholder in a block of tenyear-old flats that has been found to have flammable cladding. Many of the elderly residents are vulnerable because of the Covid pandemic. Now we are terrified at the prospect of bankruptcy and eviction. The service charge for six months has gone up from £1,200 to £2,800. I have dug deep to find this money, but when the next demand arrives in six months, I don’t know what I will do.
W. DOWNES, Bexhill-on-Sea, E. Sussex. AS A former building surveyor, I know a new or refurbished building must have building regulation approval and a completion certification. No solicitor would proceed with a home sale without these documents. The onus lies with the local authority to ensure building control inspected and signed off all outstanding matters, including appraisal by a fire officer where relevant. We can’t hold up the housing market or expect third parties to splash out to bring properties up to the standards of safety and constructions that the buildings should have achieved on completion years before.
ROBIN RAAB-WATTS, Gloucester. WhOeVer is responsible for the cladding scandal, it is not leaseholders. I am happy for my taxes to be used to replace this dangerous material immediately and for those culpable to be pursued to reimburse the costs.
TERRY PAYNE, Banstead, Surrey. hOW CAN this be fair to people who invested in these buildings? every step of construction has to be monitored to ensure building materials meet regulations. As a leaseholder, you accept you will have to pay service charges to cover maintenance. But how can it be right that you can be held responsible to prove the safety of the building and pay for any remedial costs? As a flat owner hopefully not affected by the cladding issue, I may still need to produce a certificate if I want to sell up.
JEAN McNAMARA, Greenhithe, Kent. SUreLY the costs of replacing cladding should be borne by the local authority that gave approval for the plans. Leaseholders have no say in how their homes were constructed.