I lost one home to a war. Now I face losing another to cladding scandal...
Syrian refugee fears huge repair bill
A REFUGEE who saw his home destroyed by bombs in wartorn Syria now fears losing his flat in Britain – over the cladding scandal.
Bassel Deeb is among thousands facing ruinous bills to repair fire safety defects uncovered in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy.
He said: “I lost my home and my life savings in Syria but I didn’t think it would ever happen in the UK.”
Bassel, 36, moved here after fleeing Damascus in 2012 with just a backpack. He saved £15,000 for a deposit towards a 25% stake of a one-bed flat in a shared ownership scheme.
But now he fears getting a huge bill to replace flammable cladding and timber balconies at the block in Forest Gate, East London. If he can’t pay he may lose the flat and declare himself bankrupt.
Selling is a no-go as mortgages are on hold until the repairs are done.
Bassel, who works for a tech company, said: “One thing I loved and appreciated about this country is the rule of law. As long as you do what you’re expected to do, you have rights and are protected.
“I’ve worked so hard to have a home and pay my bills. Yet that could all be taken away through no fault of my own. I’ve been through this once and it just seems cruel to go through it again. The prospect of losing all my savings for a second time is unthinkable. I only have a partial stake yet am expected to pay 100% of the bill.”
The two-block development was built in 2008. Safety fears emerged after preliminary inspections last year. Full inspection results are due within weeks.
Leaseholders don’t yet know how much they could be liable for but bills in other blocks have averaged £50,000.
Bassel bought his flat in the Woodgrange Estate with help from family and friends in 2017 after graduating from Reading University with a distinction.
Around 3,000 high rises need cladding replaced in the wake of the 2017 Grenfell inferno which claimed 72 lives in West London. The Government set up a £5billion Building Safety Fund, but if it runs short the bill is set to fall on owners.
AT RISK Bassel lives in London flats
Some work is not covered – like fire breaks and timber balconies – and MPs fear a total cost of £15billion.
Another 12,000 buildings are also excluded because they don’t meet the 18-metre minimum height criteria. Bassel’s block falls short by just 70cm.
The Woodgrange Estate residents’ association said: “Leaseholders should not be made to pay for remediation works which they had absolutely no part in creating.”
And One Housing, which oversees the blocks, said: “We sympathise with residents – we have appealed the decision for the Building Safety Fund as we believe it sits within the criteria set.
“As a housing association, we are doing everything we can to protect our leaseholders. We do not think it is right that they should pay.”
Bassel’s plight emerged as a bid to shield leaseholders from hefty bills was rejected by MPs. The House of Lords wanted to stop the owners of tower blocks from passing on costs.
But amendments to the Fire Safety Bill were voted down – for a third time – by 242 to 153, despite a rebellion by 33 Tory MPs.
Paul Afshar, from End Our Cladding Scandal, said: “We didn’t design these unsafe buildings, we didn’t approve the buildings, we weren’t the ones who built shoddy flats – we shouldn’t have to pay for a mess billionaire developers and the wider construction industry created.”
A Government spokesman said: “We understand people are worried.
“That’s why under our new finance scheme no leaseholder will pay more than £50 a month to fix cladding on buildings between 11 and 18 metres tall. Our approach strikes the right balance in protecting leaseholders and being fair to taxpayers.”
I’ve worked so hard and it seems cruel to go through it all again BASSEL DEEB ON FEAR OF LOSING ANOTHER HOME