Response to Grenfell scandal criticised

Too many leaseholders will fall through the cracks of the Government’s “piecemeal measures” to protect leaseholders from the costs of building safety remediation, according to a report by the cross-party Levelling

Up, Housing and Communities Committee.

Its Building Safety: Remediation and Funding report is in response to Housing Secretary Michael Gove’s plans to tackle the desperate situation that has seen leasehold flat owners in buildings blighted by the cladding and building safety scandal face enormous bills for fixing issues they didn’t cause in buildings they don’t own.

The report includes calls to: Scrap the proposed cap on noncladding costs for leaseholders; implement a building safety fund to cover the costs of remediating all building safety defects on any buildings of any height where the original “polluter” cannot be traced; compensate leaseholders for costs already paid out, including interim measures and rises in insurance premiums; require all relevant parties who played a role in the building safety crisis to help fund remediation; ensure the Affordable Homes Programme is protected at its current level and that social housing tenants do not pay the price through costs or diversion of funds away from maintaining their homes or other vital services .

Clive Betts, Chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, said: “Leaseholders should not be paying a penny to rectify faults not of their doing in order to make their homes safe. Nearly five years after the tragic Grenfell fire, it is shameful this situation is yet to be properly resolved. While we welcome Michael Gove’s commitment to fixing these issues, we are concerned there are gaps in the proposals which risk leaving leaseholders to pick up the bill.”