Fire & Emergency Response
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Political Editor Catherine Levin reports from last month’s cladding protests where she spoke to victims of the cladding crisis about their experience
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Four stories from the cladding scandal
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“We feel betrayed”:
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n a recent hot summer’s day, campaigners fighting for justice for leaseholders trapped by the cladding crisis gathered at the offices of housing developers across the country. They were drawing attention to the plight of hundreds of thousands of homeowners facing huge bills to pay for remediating fire safety defects they did not cause. “Developers can afford to chip into a fund that helps us”
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Martin’s Story Martin joined the protest outside a new development in Chipping Barnett in North London. This one is being built by Countryside Properties. He has lived in his flat in the Arnos Grove area of North London for six years. His building is just under 18-metres high and has many fire safety and cladding issues. He has been told that for the 33 flats in his development, the likely total costs of remediation will be in the region of £5 million. The developer of his building has gone bankrupt and is out of business. He explained: “It’s been left with the managing agent to look into things and the owner seems to have disappeared.” As a result of this situation, he cannot sell his property. “Who’s going to give you a mortgage on a property when so much is unknown?”
Asked what he thought the was the solution to this problem, Martin replied: “It’s difficult to say what’s the right resolution and whether it is forced on to the freeholders because they own the property. Why should we pay for something that we only lease?” Campaigners tried but failed to get an amendment to the Fire Safety Bill that went through parliament earlier this year. That amendment would have seen leaseholders left with no obligation to pay for remediation of fire safety defects in their buildings. The Building Safety Bill is the next potential vehicle to protect leaseholders. Prior to its introduction into parliament on July 5, the campaigners in North London had views on what could be done. Martin said that the Bill was one mechanism but whether it is the right one is another matter. He has spoken to his MP, ex-Cabinet Minister Theresa Villiers, and she says it is the wrong vehicle for change. He added: “The trouble is, if something isn’t put in place in that Bill, the default position is the leaseholders will pay the costs.” The government has recently finished consulting on the introduction of a Residential Property Developer Tax (RPDT) from 2022. HM Treasury sought views on the design of the tax that would apply to developers’ profits over £25 million from UK residential development
“We were sold fraudulent properties. We want to sell. We can’t borrow. We can’t rent it out” www.fire–magazine.com
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September 2021
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