A committee of MP’s has urged the Government to re-commit to the principle that leaseholders should not have to pay for the removal of unsafe cladding from their homes.
The Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee also calls on the Government to establish a Comprehensive Building Safety Fund that addresses the true scale of fire safety issues.
Finance for the fund should be provided by Government and the building industry they say.
The Committee found that existing arrangements for remediation of cladding that base funding support on building height and materials should be changed so that financial support is targeted where residents’ safety is most at risk.
Proposals to fund cladding remediation on buildings below 18 metres through a loan scheme, requiring leaseholders to pay up to £50 a month, should also be abandoned.
Thet call for an enhanced Comprehensive Building Safety Fund paid for by Government and industry. This would be open to all buildings with existing fire safety issues with no barriers based on height, types of tenure or the nature of fire safety defects. Priority should be given to buildings where residents are most at risk, assessed through holistic, evidence-based processes.
Chair of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee, Clive Betts MP said:
“While the extra funding for cladding removal is welcome, it will be swamped by the sheer scale of fire safety issues in multi-occupancy buildings.
“In the years since the Grenfell tragedy, we have been shocked by the reality of the danger that flammable cladding poses, by how pervasive these materials are in modern buildings and by the frequency with which fundamental fire safety measures, including fire breaks and sprinkler systems, are simply not there.
“£5 billion in funding is significant, but just cannot match the ongoing legacy of these fire safety failings.
“Most importantly, the Government’s recent proposals fail to adhere to the fundamental principle that leaseholders should not have to pay to fix these problems.
“That is why we have called on the Government to enhance support and develop a Comprehensive Building Safety Fund that targets support to where occupants are most at risk, rather than the current height- and product-based approach.
“Proposals to implement a loan scheme for leaseholders to pay for cladding remediation on buildings below 18 metres should also be abandoned.
“We call on the Government to revisit its proposals and develop a scheme that truly matches the scale of fire safety issues.
“It must prioritise support to where the safety risk is greatest and rebalance the financial burden so that it falls on the Government and industry, and not on leaseholders.”
