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Mayor of London calls on government to cover costs of private block cladding removal
The mayor of London has called on the government to cover the “immediate costs” of removing cladding from tower blocks in London “to prevent lengthy legal disputes” over who should pay for the work.
Sadiq Khan said the issue of who will pay for cladding to be removed that has failed the government’s fire safety tests is “increasingly urgent”.
The mayor cited the Cityscape tower block in Croydon, where leaseholders could face a £2m bill to remove and replace dangerous cladding.
At a tribunal hearing yesterday to determine whether the leaseholders can be charged, Paul Atkinson, regional director of Firstport, the property manager of Cityscape, said the firm had no other funding options after it was denied a loan by the Royal Bank of Scotland.
Mr Khan said many leaseholders in London “will be unable to afford to pay for these works and could end up losing their homes as a result”.
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He added: “It is also likely that lengthy legal disputes over who is responsible for the costs will end up delaying the works, resulting in dangerous cladding remaining on buildings for an extended period.”
Government ministers have said freeholders have a moral duty to cover the cost of replacing cladding, but have not promised any government funding to hasten the removal work.
In a parliamentary debate this week, housing minister Dominic Raab said a first-tier tribunal can decide who is legally responsible for paying for the cladding work and the government cannot intervene.
He said: “In relation to private sector landlords, we have made it very clear that we believe they should bear the cost. It will depend on the specific leases, and of course the legal question of whether costs are being unreasonably handed over to tenants can be determined by the first-tier tribunal.
“That is a legal issue and we cannot interfere in that, but morally we know that there are plenty of freeholders in the private sector who should be doing just as local authorities and housing associations are doing, and who should not be passing on any unreasonable cost to leaseholders or tenants.”
A Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government spokesperson said: “Keeping people safe in their homes is paramount. We are clear we want to see private sector landlords follow the lead of the social sector and not pass on the costs of essential cladding replacement to leaseholders. We are keeping the situation under review.”
Never Again campaign
Inside Housing has launched a campaign to improve fire safety following the Grenfell Tower fire
Never Again: campaign asks
Inside Housing is calling for immediate action to implement the learning from the Lakanal House fire, and a commitment to act – without delay – on learning from the Grenfell Tower tragedy as it becomes available.
LANDLORDS
- Take immediate action to check cladding and external panels on tower blocks and take prompt, appropriate action to remedy any problems
- Update risk assessments using an appropriate, qualified expert.
- Commit to renewing assessments annually and after major repair or cladding work is carried out
- Review and update evacuation policies and ‘stay put’ advice in light of risk assessments, and communicate clearly to residents
GOVERNMENT
- Provide urgent advice on the installation and upkeep of external insulation
- Update and clarify building regulations immediately – with a commitment to update if additional learning emerges at a later date from the Grenfell inquiry
- Fund the retrofitting of sprinkler systems in all tower blocks across the UK (except where there are specific structural reasons not to do so)
We will submit evidence from our research to the Grenfell public inquiry.
The inquiry should look at why opportunities to implement learning that could have prevented the fire were missed, in order to ensure similar opportunities are acted on in the future.
