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Concerns raised over application time limits for government’s £1bn Building Safety Fund
Social housing sector figures have raised concerns over the timescales in which housing associations and private building owners have to apply for money through the government’s £1bn Building Safety Fund.
Speaking yesterday at the Social Housing Annual Conference, Helen Evans, chair of the G15 and chief executive of London landlord Network Homes, said her association is still investigating some buildings that may be eligible for fund, but by the time the checks have been finished the money may run out.
She said: “The biggest problem with the fund is there is not going to be enough money to meet demands upon it.
“There is an anxiety about first come, first served; but, you know, we still have buildings being investigated which may lead to claims on the fund for which there won’t be sufficient financial provision.”
During the Budget in March, chancellor Rishi Sunak confirmed that the government would be setting aside £1bn to fund the removal of dangerous non-aluminium composite material (ACM) cladding from buildings taller than 18m across the country.
The fund, which opened in May, works on a ‘first come, first serve’ basis, with private building owners able to apply for funding for whole buildings and housing associations able to apply for funding to cover the costs that would be placed on their leaseholders and shared owners.
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However, the government predicts this fund may only cover around 600 buildings, despite there being an estimated 1,800 buildings over 18m with dangerous non-ACM cladding and many more under 18m. The deadline for private owners is January, while housing associations have until March to submit applications.
Ms Evans said that as far as she is aware no G15 landlord has secured money through the fund yet, despite a number of applications being submitted. She said in some cases there would be problems in exhausting all options for the recovery of funds through all necessary routes before being able to apply for funding, as the rules of the fund state.
As part of the conditions of the funding, landlords must be able to show that they have made efforts to recoup the costs through warranty providers or through the block’s original developers. However, Charis Beverton, senior associate at Winckworth and Sherwood, said this is proving difficult for landlords to do by the deadlines given.
Ms Beverton said: “Unfortunately one of the big things with Building Safety Fund is that the timelines that have been imposed do not fit well with detailed and thorough investigation of contractual liabilities, determining what the best remedial solution is and then getting everybody into contract by the application deadlines.”
“It is a very, very tight timeline and that itself is going to mean that some buildings and some residents aren’t able to benefit from the fund in the way they ought to benefit.”
In an update in September, the government said applications had been made by 2,784 buildings across the country. Inside Housing later revealed that these did not include housing association applications and that there could still be applications covering “tens of thousands” of leaseholders yet to be counted.
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has been contacted for comment.
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