Responding to the package of measures announced to protect
leaseholders from the cost of removing and replacing dangerous
cladding, , building safety
spokesperson at the Local Government Association, said:
“It is good that the Secretary of State has secured unprecedented
funding to ensure leaseholders in high-rise blocks will not have
to pay anything towards cladding remediation. This is an
important step towards protecting leaseholders from the unfair
cost of a crisis that is not of their making and something the
LGA has long-called for.
“No leaseholder should have to pay the costs of making their
homes safe. Everything should be done to force developers and
product manufacturers to meet the costs they have imposed on the
country through decades of failure on an industrial scale.
“The Grenfell Tower disaster exposed a building safety system
that is not fit for purpose. If a building found to be unsafe has
been built according to building regulations, then the Treasury
needs to pick up the cost of remediation and, if not, then those
responsible for building it must pick up the cost to make it
safe. If a product on the building has failed, then the
manufacturer must be liable for the cost.
“We urge the Government to bring forward this relief as soon as
possible to ease the suffering of leaseholders and prevent wider
economic damage that could result if the cladding scandal
continues to impact the housing market as it has done recently.
Social landlords taking swift and responsible action to fix their
dangerous buildings will also need their costs covered so they
can also focus on investing in the social housing the country
needs.
“In some areas many building safety failures are not caused by
dangerous cladding but other construction faults. It is important
that these leaseholders can also be protected from the cost of
any repairs to make their homes safe.”
