Industry News
Thousands of flats still in dangerously clad blocks of flats as removal deadline is missed
N
inety-one tower blocks in the social housing sector with approximately 7,000 flats remain clad in the dangerous
‘Grenfell-style’ ACM panels, after the end of year deadline for its removal was missed. There are many more thousands of flats covered in other flammable materials for which there are no removal plans. Remediation work has started on 77 of the 91
blocks, but work has yet to start on the remaining 14 blocks in the social sector although remediation work plans exist for 13 of them. A plan for removal of Aluminium Composite Material panels from the last block is still being drawn up. Clearly irritated by the slow progress being made,
the Government has written to the owners of social and private sector tower blocks, threatening to name and shame them, where they have yet to remove and replace ACM cladding. The housing secretary Robert Jenrick told the Commons that “inaction must have consequences”. So far cladding removal and remediation work
has been completed on 68 of the 159 blocks owned and managed by councils and housing associations. This has made just over 4,500 flats safe, equivalent to 41 per cent. Some £400million was made available by the
Government to fund the removal work, with allocations agreed for 144 of the blocks. An application is expected for one other block, while the remaining 14 are having the remediation work funded through the landlords’ own resources and legal action.
The position is much worse in the private sector
where 174 blocks are yet to have the ACM panels removed. These buildings account for approximately 12,400 to 16,800 flats. Works have been completed at just 23 tower blocks, where between 2,000 and 2,600 flats have been made safe, or less than 19 per cent. Of the 174 blocks still awaiting remediation, 31
have started remediation – an increase of four from the end of November. Latest intelligence is that there are six buildings that are known to be vacant, having started remediation or with an intent to remediate or remediation plans in place. 143 blocks are awaiting remediation work to start
or for plans to be drawn up before works can commence. These blocks account for between 12,400 and 16,800 flats. Across the social and private sectors, at least 19,000 flats (and possibly as many as 24,000 flats) are still clad in the unsafe ACM panels and materials similar to those used on Grenfell Tower.
HUGE UNCERTAINTY Some two and a half years after the Grenfell disaster, there are even 24 private sector residential buildings where the ‘cladding status’ is still to be confirmed although the Housing Ministry claims to have been in contact with all owners. Funding has been agreed with the Government
to help pay for the removal of ACM cladding from just four private sector blocks, from the £200million budget set aside for this work. It seems highly unlikely that the June deadline (set by Ministers) for
completing the removal work will be met. There also remains questions over the removal of
other cladding panel materials – some of which were involved in fires during 2019 – and whether any funding will be made available to pay for other fire safety works, such as installing water sprinkler systems. Determining the liability for removal costs is proving to be a hugely contentious issue. The G15 group of large housing associations
based in and around London has estimated that the full cost of removing non-ACM cladding from its blocks in the capital could be as much as £6.9billion. One of the G15, Network Homes has warned its
4,000 leaseholders they are “on notice” for bills of up to £100,000 each to pay for the removal of non- ACM cladding unless the Government steps in to help. The HA admitted the figure was at the “high end” of its estimations, Also in the capital, Wandsworth Council has had
a legal application to force all its 2,500 leaseholders in high-rise blocks to pay to fit sprinklers struck out by a tribunal. The council was seeking a ruling which would have allowed it to force leaseholders to pay between £3,000 and £4,000 to retrofit sprinkler systems in residential blocks of 10 storeys or more. The tribunal found the council was not entitled
to ask for a ‘blanket determination’ of leaseholder rights. It said that if the council wishes to fit the sprinkler systems then it must consider each block of flats individually and could make an application to the tribunal on a block-by-block basis at a later date.
New electrical safety rules for rental properties
New rules for carrying out electrical safety checks every five years in private sector tenancies are being introduced from July this year, with fines of upto £30,000 for non-compliance. Checks will initially be required for all new
tenancies let from July 1 this year and they will then be rolled out to all existing tenancies from April 2021. They also require pre-tenancy and five yearly checks of all fixed appliances and wiring in properties. The new regulations were laid before Parliament in mid January. The Residential Landlords Association has
welcomed moves to make rental homes safer for tenants, but has voiced concerns over the timescale, with landlords having just five months to comply. Once the electrical installation has been
tested, the landlord needs to receive a written report from the inspector, with the results and next inspection date.
They must then:
• Give a copy of the report to tenants within 28 days
• Give a copy to the local authority, if it asks for one, within seven days
• Keep a copy and give it to the person carrying out the next inspection.
For new tenancies, the landlord must:
• Give the tenant a copy of the most recent report before they move in
• Give a copy of the most recent report to any prospective new tenant who asks for it in writing, within 28 days
If improvement work is needed it must be carried out within 28 days, or a timeframe recommended by the inspector, which could be shorter. The landlord must then get written confirmation the
14 | HMM February/March 2020 |
www.housingmmonline.co.uk
work has been done, a copy of which needs to be given to each tenant along with the original report. If the tenants of the property refuse access, the
landlord will not be considered to have breached this duty. If a landlord breaches the requirements – and
where the work is not urgent the local council will serve a ‘remedial notice’ on the landlord. Once this is served the landlord will have 28 days to make the improvements or will be given 21 days to object. If the landlord does not make the necessary
improvements, the council can access the property with the tenant’s permission to do the work, although landlords can appeal. The local authority must tell the landlord but will
be able to recover their costs from them. They can also do this where urgent works are needed but have not been carried out.
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