Leaseholders stuck in cladding disputes face 'very miserable Christmas', Yorkshire MP claims

After the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017 in which 72 people were killed it was pledged that the safe alternatives to cladding would be provided on all buildings in England taller than 18 metres by last June.

But a report in September found just 155 out of 455 high-rise buildings with similar cladding to Grenfell have had remedial work fully completed.

And scores of leaseholders are now stuck in tense negotiations with owners and developers over who should foot the high costs, while in the meantime shelling out for expensive 'waking watches' - 24-hour fire marshals - to keep residents safe.

Owners of flats in a dozen buildings in and around Leeds were reported to be paying up to £400 a month each for 24-hour fire marshalls as an interim measure to avoid being evicted, after West Yorkshire Fire Service inspectors found their buildings were unsafe.

Clive Betts, Labour chairman of the Commons Housing, Communities and Local Government Select Committee and Sheffield South East MP, told the House of Commons that the £1.6bn which had been made available by the Government to help those who could not pay for remedial work was “totally inadequate”.

He said: “If leaseholders are not going to pay, and I hope the minister will confirm that, I accept that he should pursue developers and freeholders and others.

“But, in the meantime, if developers have gone out of business or are refusing to pay, does he accept that at least in the interim the Government is going to have to step in and fund all the costs?

“If he accepts that, then does he accept that the £1.6 billion so far made available to remove dangerous cladding will be totally inadequate?

“The select committee heard that to make all high-rise buildings totally safe and remove all defects the total bill could be as high as £15bn, and leaseholders should not have to pay that.

“Does he accept that without assurances on these points many people are going to have a very miserable Christmas trapped in properties they can’t sell, properties they often can’t insure, trapped in properties where they’re having to pay for waking watches and wondering how on earth they are going to pay the bills that could arrive on their doormat at any time?”