Three of the country’s largest mortgage lenders have agreed to issue loans on flats affected by Grenfell-related cladding issues, potentially releasing thousands of properties onto the market.

Virgin Money, TSB and Skipton Building Society have added their names to a statement already signed by six other major banks.

The move means over three quarters of mortgage lending in the country is now covered by the commitment.

No requirement

The six lenders already signed up to the government initiative are Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds, Nationwide, NatWest and Santander.

Lenders will consider mortgage applications on properties in buildings in England of 11 metres or five storeys and above in height with building safety issues.

There is no requirement for a building to have been repaired, providing it is being fixed by developers, is covered by a recognised government scheme, or it is protected by the leaseholder measures in the Building Safety Act.

This is a further sign of the market’s confidence in the solutions that we have put in place.”

Lee Rowley, minister for building safety, says: “I am extremely pleased to see three new lenders doing the right thing and supporting leaseholders who are stuck in homes with building safety defects.

“This is a further sign of the market’s confidence in the solutions that we have put in place to protect leaseholders.”

Taken steps

The Government says it has taken steps to protect leaseholders from remediation costs since the Grenfell Tower tragedy in 2017, including the Building Safety Act.

The Act confirmed that those responsible for unsafe cladding, and not leaseholders, will pay to fix it.

Karen Appleton, head of mortgage lending at Skipton Building Society, says: “I’m really proud that Skipton has worked with DLUHC and industry experts to make it possible to sign up to the joint statement, in order to further support customers impacted by the cladding crisis and to play a part in opening up the lending market for flats.”