Building cladding- government plans for building safety and funding
Following the catastrophe of the Grenfell Tower fire on June 14, 2017 (in which 72 people were confirmed to have lost their lives), it became clear that a variety of unsafe cladding on residential structures was widespread. Residents have had to foot the bill for increased insurance premiums, round-the-clock fire patrols, and difficulty accessing funding through mortgage finance because of such cladding. On January 19, 2022, the House of Commons Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (LUHC) Select Committee began an investigation into the government’s plans for building safety, as well as funding and remediation difficulties. The current condition of holding building owners accountable for building safety issues is examined in this article.
What will the Committee consider?
- The efficiency and influence of the government’s planned measures to make developers and industry pay.
- Funding arrangements with industry.
- Risk to the Department for LUHC’s budget, particularly around social housing, if it is not able to secure adequate funds from industry.
What written submissions will be considered by the Committee and when is the closing date for submissions?
- The potential impacts of the announcements and whether they go far enough.
- The funding arrangements to be agreed with industry.
- How the announcements affect the wider objectives of the Department for LUHC.
The closing date for submissions is 16 February 2022.
Online service launched to allow leaseholders to track Building Safety Fund applications
A new online service to track remediation of high-risk buildings was introduced on January 20, 2022, to hold building owners responsible for remediation efforts. This new Leaseholder and Resident Service allows residents of tower blocks to get information on the status of their building’s application to the government’s Building Safety Fund (BSF) for structures taller than 17.7 metres. If you’re a leaseholder, this will assist you to understand where your building is in the process and expose those that simply do little to make their premises secure.
If you would like any more information relating to this article then please feel free to contact me: Telephone – 020 8221 8089, via email: sadiq.uddin@bowlinglaw.co.uk or visit my profile.
This is not legal advice; it is intended to provide information of general interest about current legal issues.
The following links provide more information:
Cladding progress of remediation: government response to the Select Committee report
