Building Safety Minister Baroness Blake of Leeds has set out new protections for leaseholders who still risk large bills to fix serious building and fire safety defects, alongside a scheme that will make construction product manufacturers contribute to putting unsafe buildings right.
The proposals, announced by Housing Secretary Angela Rayner, were unveiled during the second reading of the Remediation of Unsafe Cladding Bill in Parliament on Tuesday. For the first time, the government will have the powers it needs to recover contributions from manufacturers connected to historic unsafe cladding and insulation products, and at scale.
Baroness Blake: 'Security they deserve'
"We are going further to protect more homeowners from unfair costs and make construction product manufacturers contribute towards putting things right," Baroness Blake said. "Alongside new powers to force those responsible to fix unsafe buildings, these measures will help give residents the safety and security they deserve."
Closing the gaps
Existing protections depend on who owned a flat on 14 February 2022, which means someone who later buys a flat as their only home can miss out because a previous owner was ineligible. The government is exploring how to narrow that gap.
Residents of collectively owned and enfranchised buildings, who have no separate freeholder and fall outside the Building Safety Act protections, will get new funding towards fixing internal high-risk fire safety defects. The limit for protection on non-cladding defects will rise from three properties to six, covering people who owned four to six properties on the qualifying date.
The Bill itself places a legal duty on those responsible to fix unsafe buildings, with criminal penalties and fines of up to £500,000 for those who fail to act, and allows authorities to step in where work is consistently refused.
Joe Powell: 'That will change'
Kensington and Bayswater MP Joe Powell, whose constituency includes Grenfell Tower, welcomed the move. "It's shameful that companies like Arconic, Kingspan and Celotex have avoided picking up the bill to fix unsafe cladding," he said. "That will change."
He added that he would do all he could to make sure none of those companies had access to public contracts, especially while the criminal justice process is ongoing.
