Leaseholders’ life savings being drained, cladding campaigners warn

Leaseholders are draining their life savings while they wait for the building safety crisis to be fixed, campaigners have warned.

More than nine years after the Grenfell Tower fire, which killed 72 people almost a decade ago, many leaseholders are still facing bills for defects that they did not cause.

The warning came as new measures to protect more leaseholders from the cost of fixing fire safety defects were unveiled in Parliament.

For agents, the changes could help unlock sales of flats that have been stuck on the market due to building safety concerns.

The measures were set out during the second reading of the Remediation of the Unsafe Cladding Bill on 27th October.

Leaseholder protections

Building Safety Campaigner Sophie Bichener said: “We have been promised new measures, new legislation, for years. And we’re all still waiting and paying while we wait.

“There are life savings being depleted.”

Ministers are looking at buyers who miss out on protection due to a previous owner’s circumstances.

Under current rules, whether someone is protected from some building safety bills can depend on the circumstances of the person who owned the flat on 14 February 2022

This means someone can buy a flat later as their only or main home and still miss out, because a previous owner was ineligible. The government is exploring how to narrow this gap, to help more leaseholders feel confident in the safety of their home.

In addition, the limit for owners of multiple properties will rise from three to six, covering more people with non-cladding defects.

Residents in collectively owned and enfranchised buildings, who have no separate freeholder and are not covered by the Building Safety Act, will also get new funding.

We are going further to protect more homeowners from unfair costs and make construction product manufacturers contribute towards putting things right.”

Meanwhile, a new scheme will  force construction product manufacturers linked to unsafe cladding and insulation to contribute towards repairs.

The Bill places a legal duty on those responsible to fix unsafe buildings. Those who fail to act face criminal penalties and fines of up to £500,000.

Building Safety Minister Baroness Blake said: “We are going further to protect more homeowners from unfair costs and make construction product manufacturers contribute towards putting things right.”

Nathan Emerson, Chief Executive of Propertymark, said the changes should help homeowners who have struggled to sell.

He said: “Progress on this issue will help remove the barriers faced by many homeowners and leaseholders who have been trapped in a cycle that has made it extremely difficult to sell their properties.”

But Bichener said: “I don’t believe this bill will do what we need to see the end of the building safety crisis for good.

“All leaseholders should be protected from all and any costs to put right historic fire safety defects.”