GRENFELL FIRE FALLOUT WILL BANKRUPT US
Block’s £2.7m bill to do up cladding
FALLOUT from the Grenfell cladding scandal has almost bankrupted two would-be parents.
Matt Browne and Lizzie Barnett wanted to sell their Birmingham flat to have children in a bigger home.
But they were shocked to be told by their estate agent the apartment was worth zero due to high-risk cladding.
Now Matt, 26, and Lizzie, 27, face bankruptcy because of crippling repair bills to make their building safe.
They are among at least 1.5 million leaseholders whose homes have been declared worthless and who face bills into the thousands after fire-hazard cladding similar to that found in the Grenfell tragedy – which left 72 dead in 2017 – was found at their homes.
Matt, a video producer, and teacher Lizzie face having to share part of an estimated £2.7million remedial repair cost to ensure the structure passes insurance safety standards.
The work could take 18 months. Until then owners of flats at the block are legally forced to pay out £4,600 every six months for “walking watches” – round-the-clock fire
72 died in Grenfell disaster guards who are meant to raise the alarm if a fire breaks out.
They have been warned the building’s insurance will be going up from £62,000 a year to more than £263,000.
Matt said: “These costs are just unachievable for us and with a flat we can’t sell we are facing bankruptcy. We wanted to move to a bigger place and start a family but that’s all gone until we can sort this out.” They expect to rely on family and friends.
Matt said the “extortionate” bills “should be the responsibility of the developers who built the place”.
He added: “We are among so many lives... ruined for no fault of our own.”
Ministers said the financial burden should not be borne by leaseholders but have not said who should pay.
Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has made £1.6billion available to help leaseholders fix the problems, but experts in the building industry estimate the cost could be 20 times that.
Government legislation, due in the Commons late next month, says bills should be “affordable”. But Matt says only the Government has the power to hold developers accountable.
Shadow housing minister Matt Amesbury said: “Leaseholders are footing the bill for a crisis made by developers and poor Government building regulation. The Government needs to step in and sort this out.”