A bid to save leaseholders from bills to remove cladding has been defeated in parliament.
The Fire Safety Bill was brought forward to strengthen regulations following the Grenfell Tower fire. But there has been an intense debate about who should pay for new fire prevention measures.
On 22 March MPs in the House of Commons rejected an amendment that would have made developers, construction firms and manufacturers responsible, with the government paying the costs upfront and then recouping them. The amendment was submitted by the House of Lords. It was backed by Labour, but failed to attract sufficient Tory rebels to pass, and was defeated 322 to 253. Ministers said the proposal was unworkable and would lead to further delays in making buildings safe. But Labour said the government had broken its promises and “it is blameless people who will pay the price”.
In February, the government announced it was putting £3.5bn towards removing unsafe cladding from buildings more than 18m high – on top of £1.6bn for cladding removal announced last year. It said flat owners in lower-rise blocks would be able to access loans to cover repair work and repayments would be capped at £50 a month. But flat owners say they still face costs of up to £50,000 for other works and insurance premiums.
The Fire Safety Bill now returns to the House of Lords.
One of the blocks Watsons manage are starting a local campaign group – the Norfolk Leaseholder Action Group. The idea is to connect different blocks of flats in the region, share ideas and support each other, and, of course, campaign for political action. If you’d like to be involved, please get in touch at NorfolkLAG@gmail.com
A number of other groups and industry associations are also lobbying the government:
- Justice for Grenfell
- 38 degrees – End Our National Cladding Scandal
- org -Save homeowners from financial ruin by ensuring developers pay for their cladding mistakes
- org – Make Freeholders financially responsible for removing unsafe cladding from buildings
Parliament petitions
· Extend the Building Safety Fund to include non-ACM buildings under 18m
· Give leaseholders more legal protection and consumer rights
· Implement select committee recommendations on cladding to protect leaseholders
· Make all costs for Fire Prevention and Cladding safety works exempt from VAT
Watsons have also produced a letter template that you could email or post directly to your MP. Download it here.
