The government must support leaseholders in all affected buildings regardless of height, accept the amendment to support leaseholders and enact the Fire Safety Bill, says FPA managing director Jonathan O’Neill.
After this week’s Fire Safety Bill debates in Parliament, there is still no agreement on who should foot the bill for removing dangerous cladding from buildings across the country.
Responding to the continued uncertainty about the Bill, Jonathan O’Neill said: “The FPA has repeatedly called on the government to support all leaseholders, in all affected buildings regardless of height, with grants to bring this debacle to a close. It should then be down to the government to pursue those responsible through the courts and to ensure justice is done and the money is fully repaid.”
The government is still holding the line that amendments are “laudable in their intention” but “unworkable and inappropriate”. This is despite a revised amendment that would see leaseholders protected from huge bills from building owners that could bankrupt thousands of leaseholders before a government scheme is in place.
Mr O’Neill added: “This has been going on for too long. It is completely unacceptable that we continue to have people living in buildings which are fundamentally unsafe and leaseholders facing financial ruin because they quite reasonably believed that they were protected by a regulatory system that was fit for purpose and robust.”
The hour-long debate in the House of Commons saw a succession of MPs from all parties support the amendment and protect leaseholders from financial ruin.
Shadow Home Office Minister, Sarah Jones MP responded on the issue of government funding for remediation: “They do not seem to care that the vague and undefined loan scheme that they have hailed as the answer – despite having promised many times that leaseholders will not have to pay – will damage people’s property prices and will not actually be in place for at least two years, leaving thousands to pay mounting waking watch bills and stuck in properties they cannot sell.”
