Indefensible! Fury of f lat owners failed by new cladding bill

CAMPAIGNERS have vowed to fight on after MPs failed to protect leaseholders from the crippling costs of the cladding scandal.

They hit out at the ‘indefensible’ Fire Safety Bill, which leaves leaseholders liable to bills of up to £150,000 each for repairs.

It follows a parliamentary battle over who should pay to fix firetrap flats following the Grenfell disaster. Boris Johnson faced a major backlash over the bill.

But after several defeats in the Lords and two Tory rebellions in the Commons, it became law yesterday. The bill means leaseholders are still legally liable for the cost of fixing unsafe cladding and other fire safety defects.

Campaign group End Our Cladding Scandal said: ‘Yet again government has voted to punish leaseholders – also known as “taxpayers” and “voters” – for regulatory failings and dodgy developers who they allowed to prioritise profits over safety. We have the right to be angry. But the fight isn’t over yet.’

More than a million private flats are thought to be affected by safety defects identified after the 2017 Grenfell blaze in west London, which claimed 72 lives.

Taxpayer funding was more than trebled in February to £5.1billion. But the cash is only for those living in buildings above 60ft with unsafe cladding. Ministers announced a loan scheme for smaller buildings, but hundreds of thousands of leaseholders may have to borrow up to £600 a year for repairs.

Survivors’ group Grenfell United said: ‘The Government’s position on this is indefensible.’

A Government spokesman said ministers were prioritising the tallest blocks with the most dangerous cladding, but for lowerrise buildings the loan scheme would cap bills at £50 a month.