Industry News


MPs demand that leaseholders and social housing tenants do not have to foot the bill for building safety works


T


oo many leaseholders will fall through the cracks of the Government’s “piecemeal measures” to protect leaseholders from


the costs of building safety remediation, says the cross-party Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee. Te Committee’s Building Safety: Remediation


and Funding report responds to the plans outlined by Secretary of State Michael Gove to the House of Commons earlier this year. Te committee’s report makes a series of


recommendations for Government, including calls to:


• Scrap the proposed cap on non-cladding costs for leaseholders;


• Implement a Comprehensive Building Safety Fund to cover the costs of remediating all building safety defects on any buildings of any height where the original “polluter” cannot be traced;


• Compensate leaseholders for costs already paid out, including for interim measures and for rises in insurance premiums;


• Require all relevant parties who played a role in the building safety crisis to contribute to funds for remediation; and


• Ensure the Affordable Homes Programme is protected at its current level and that social housing tenants do not pay the price through costs or diversion of funds away from maintaining their homes or other vital services.


Clive Betts, Chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee, said: “Leaseholders should not be paying a penny to rectify faults not of their doing in order to make their homes safe. Nearly five years aſter the tragic Grenfell fire, it is shameful this situation is yet to be properly resolved. “While we welcome Michael Gove’s commitment to fixing these issues, we are concerned there are


“Te Government should be looking beyond


developers and manufacturers to contribute to the costs of fixing the building safety crisis. We recommend the Government identify all relevant parties who played a role in this crisis, such as product suppliers, installers, contractors and sub- contractors, and legally require them to pay towards fixing individual faults and ensure that they also contribute to collective funding for building safety remediation. Insurers should also be required to contribute to funds for remediation. “Te Government needs to stop pitting the


building safety crisis against the housing crisis. Social renters shouldn’t be bearing the impact of putting building safety right – the Government needs to act to ensure the tenants of social housing are protected from the costs of remediation. “Residents of social housing are currently paying


“Leaseholders should not be paying a penny to rectify faults not of their doing in order to make


their homes safe.” Clive Betts, Chair of the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee


gaps in the Secretary of State’s proposals which risk leaving leaseholders to pick up the bill. “Leaseholders are no more to blame for non-


cladding defects than they are for faulty cladding on homes they bought in good faith. Te Government should bring forward a Comprehensive Building Safety Fund, or upgrade their existing funding plans, to ensure that the costs of remediating all building safety defects on buildings where the original ‘polluter’ cannot be traced are covered and that leaseholders are also compensated for costs they have already paid out.


the price through the diversion of funds from maintaining their homes and other vital services provided by housing associations and councils. “Te Government should also come forward with


a cast-iron guarantee that the Affordable Homes Programme is protected at its current level in the event that the Government fails in its bid to secure sufficient funds from industry.” Te report disagrees with the Government that


only buy-to-let landlords with one other property should be included in the statutory protections for leaseholders, arguing there are other options to exclude wealthy property tycoons without making landlords of more modest means liable, and calls on the Government to publish an impact assessment before undertaking action. Te LUHC Committee’s report highlights the


ongoing uncertainty around building safety and its significant impact on the housing market Te report also recommends that it should be the


Building Safety Regulator, and not building owners, that decides whether a building needs a fire risk assessment and that the regulator should also set the standard that a building needs to meet.


Rents frozen for thousands of tenants in Northern Ireland


Rents for tenants of the Northern Ireland Housing Executive are to be frozen for the year 2022/23 because of the rising cost of living, the Stormont government has decided. Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey


announced that there will be no increase in rents for all social housing tenants living in the circa 85,000


homes managed by the NIHE and she urged housing associations in the province to follow suit. “As communities minister my priority is to


support people, particularly the most vulnerable, who are facing soaring fuel and household bills. I am announcing that I will freeze Housing Executive


16 | HMMApril/May 2022 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk


rent levels for 2022?23 so as to not place any further financial burden on individuals and families trying hard each day to make ends meet,” she said. Te minister added that tenants “need security”


and that a freeze in their rents will provide a “bit of stability on an important housing cost in an uncertain climate”.


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