Taylor Wimpey pledges £125m to make flats safe after Grenfell

TAYLOR Wimpey today put aside £125 million to address cladding and fire safety issues to put right 232 buildings it put up which could fall foul of new, post-Grenfell tragedy building rules.

It is by far the biggest move in the sector and throws down the gauntlet to other builders to break the logjam that has seen hundreds of thousands of people stuck in flats deemed unsafe and unsellable.

Chief executive Pete Redfern pledged to fund remedial work on all affected buildings, whether it still owns them or not in a move he said was “morally right”. Funds will be used for jobs such as removing and replacing cladding and replacing timber balconies.

Many flat owners are facing bills of tens of thousands of pounds for firesafety improvements after the tragic Grenfell blaze in 2017.

Redfern said: “We have taken this decision in order to provide certainty for customers and leaseholders and to avoid them bearing the cost of investment to ensure their buildings are safe.”

Taylor Wimpey has often previously sold individual flats to buyers, and the freehold of the building to a third party.

The housebuilder said its fund will help support for fire safety improvement works for leaseholders in Taylor Wimpey apartment buildings built over the last 20 years.

The support includes properties that are below 18 metres, helping those that were left out in a government funding package announced recently. Last month the government said it would fully fund the cost of replacing unsafe cladding for all leaseholders in residential buildings 18 metres (six storeys) and over in England. For lower-rise buildings there will be a new loan scheme .

Taylor Wimpey said for buildings it owns, it will both fund and oversee the improvement of apartment buildings, regardless of eligibility for the government fund, including apartment buildings below 18 metres.

If Taylor Wimpey no longer owns the building and it is not eligible for the government’s fund, “where a freeholder produces a fair and proportionate plan for fire safety improvement works” it will pay.

Today’s package is on top of a £40 million provision announced before.

Persimmon and Bellway have set aside £75 million and £46.8 million so far, while Barratt has paid out or set aside £40 million.

Canaccord Genuity analyst Aynsley Lammin said: “It would not be a surprise to see others fall more in line with this levelof support as their position in identified and addressed.”

Taylor Wimpey’s update came as it reinstated its dividend after pausing payments during the Covid crisis, returning £151 million or 4.14p a share. It posted pre-tax profit down 68% to £264.4 million for last year after the pandemic dented sales, as construction sites closed. Demand picked up strongly later in the year.

It is morally right to provide certainty for customers and leaseholders and avoid them bearing the cost of ensuring their homes are safe