‘Alarming two-tier’ divide between government-funded and developer-led remediation schemes, new research warns

Leaseholders continue to see the value of their properties plummet while they wait for dangerous cladding to be removed.

The price of flats in one London block has tumbled by £100,000 because of a five-year delay to work. This left owners unable to sell their homes and forced them to cover a sixfold increase in insurance premiums on top of rising mortgage costs and service fees.

This new call by TPI comes after it published research revealing “a widening two-tier divide in cladding remediation”, with government-funded schemes completing at more than double the rate of buildings covered by pledged developers.

At the current rate of progress, TPI estimates it could take around 10 years for all developer-pledged buildings to have started remediation works on site.

Andrew Bulmer, chief executive of TPI, said: “This data is genuinely alarming. Thousands of people across the country are living in unsafe buildings, often unable to sell their homes, having faced nearly a decade of uncertainty since the Grenfell tragedy.

“The fact that the current remediation progress is so slow, with no end in sight, is a national scandal. The goal for the government and everyone involved in the housing sector should be to make these homes safe as soon as possible.”

In 2022, 53 house builders signed government-led pledges accepting responsibility for fixing life-critical defects in 2,604 buildings they developed. 

The latest government figures suggest that more than 1,300 buildings have yet to make a meaningful start on remediation, leaving residents in nearly 80,000 homes in unsafe buildings.

For social housing blocks, those with unsafe cladding that are not due to be remediated for at least a decade have increased by 18% in the past three months.

Data collected from TPI’s members found 58% of developer-pledged projects remain at the early stages (application or scoping).

Only 10% of developer-pledged buildings are complete, compared to 26% of government-funded projects. Just 10% of developer-pledged projects have commenced on site, up from 6% last year.

By comparison, 40% of government-funded projects are on site or in completion stages, compared to 19% of developer-pledged projects.

A total of 26% of government-funded remediation projects are now complete, up from 13% the previous year. Meanwhile, only 14% remain at early stages, down sharply from 41% last year.

The findings come following the King’s Speech in May, which confirmed that a Remediation Bill will be brought forward in the next parliamentary session. 

As a result of the findings, TPI is calling on the government to use the legislation to introduce a backstop – a legal enforcement mechanism that automatically kicks in if a developer fails to meet a remediation deadline – that currently will apply only to landlords and not developers.

It is also calling for the scope of the bill to cover internal safety defects as well as external cladding.

Mr Bulmer added: “The government’s Remediation Bill is an opportunity to give developers a legally binding backstop that reassures residents that every step legally possible is being taken to make their homes safe. Pledged developers need a hard deadline to ensure there are no more unnecessary delays.”