More building owners will be held to account for repairs of
high-rise properties thanks to a multi-million-pound expansion in
council enforcement teams.
Backed by more than £8 million in government funding, local
enforcement units will benefit from greater resources to pursue
freeholders who are dragging their heels and refusing to begin
repairs.
Councils have already begun a crackdown through their own teams,
but with extra support will now be able to provide more innocent
leaseholders with a safe and secure home.
The funding from the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and
Communities will be split among 59 councils in England and
prioritised for those with the highest number of unsafe
buildings, particularly focused in London, Manchester and
Birmingham.
Minister for Building Safety said:
Building owners must get essential cladding repairs done as
quickly as possible and we will be relentless in pursuing those
who do not.
We are bolstering council enforcement operations, making them
better equipped to make the most of the powers they have to hold
freeholders to account and prevent them from dragging their
heels.
I look forward to working with councils to ensure we keep up the
pressure on freeholders so they step up to the plate.
Cllr Dora Dixon-Fyle, Cabinet Member for Community Safety at
Southwark Council, said:
We’ve been taking enforcement action against private residential
building owners who haven’t completed necessary cladding
work for some years now. This is part of our thorough fire
safety measures that look to keep people safe.
However, we have far more high-rise buildings than many
other London boroughs, meaning that this funding will support a
much needed expansion of our work.
The Building Safety Act makes clear building owners must fix
their own buildings and that developers are the first in line to
pay to protect leaseholders from repair bills. The additional
funding will help ensure freeholders cannot escape their
responsibilities.
More than 45 of the UK’s biggest house builders have pledged to
do the right thing and agreed to fund work to fix life-critical,
fire-safety defects on buildings 11 metres and over that they had
a role in developing or refurbishing over the last 30 years -
including those which have applied for or received government
funding.
Where a developer cannot be identified or has not yet agreed to
pay for its own buildings, the £4.5 billion Building Safety Fund
is available to pay for work to address life-critical fire safety
issues with buildings 18 metres plus in height with cladding.
For eligible buildings 11-18m in height in this situation, a new
scheme funded by developers through the Building Safety Levy will
pay to address life safety fire risk issues will be rolled out
next year following a pilot launched last month.
