Victims of the cladding scandal are being forced to pay the price

Baroness Pinnock explains why she is pushing for protection of leaseholders

Around 1.4 million people in our country are living in homes at a very high risk of fire. This is not an empty statistic. Knowing that you live in a building which every day risks a Grenfell tragedy, has a huge and stressful impact on residents.

The Government’s response to this serious situation has failed to get close to meeting the demands of the scale of the problem.

Leaseholders and tenants have been forced to pay enormous additional sums for so called “waking watch” schemes where buildings are surveilled for signs of fire 24/7. The Government’s own assessment shows that this is costing each building £11,000 per month on average. For individuals this can mean paying £300 extra each month (some nearly double that).

Residents had been paying for this for three years when, belatedly, the Government created a £30m fund for installation of fire alarms. It will not be enough to meet the need.

‘Knowing that you live in a building which every day risks a Grenfell tragedy, has a huge and stressful impact’ (Photo: Brais G. Rouco/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Safety breaches revealed

This crisis has exposed the failure of the construction industry to build homes that are safe to live in. Often when this dangerous cladding is removed other safety breaches are revealed.

The Government actions to put this scandal right have been shameful. Government has provided £1.6bn to remove cladding, but its own estimated cost is £16bn. The question is who pays for cladding removal? Building owners have passed on the cost to leaseholders, meaning individuals are faced with a very substantial extra charge. The lowest I have seen is £12,000, the largest £115,000.

Leaseholders are unable to sell a property that has no value, unable to afford the huge capital costs, unable to afford the monthly waking watch charges, and find their home is not only a safety risk but also a financial burden.

This has led to spiralling mental health issues which, for a few, has had awful consequence. Some have decided on bankruptcy as being the only route to take. This is a disgraceful state of affairs.

Leaseholders irresponsible

The leaseholders have acted responsibly in purchasing their homes, but they have been sold a defective product. When car manufacturers find defects in their models, they are recalled and fixed at the manufacturers’ expense. This must happen to end this cladding scandal. The Government must fund the remediation and recoup the money from the construction companies out of fairness and common justice.

The amendment I proposed to the Fire Safety Bill states that no leaseholder (except those who are also freeholders) and no tenant should have to pay for any costs associated with living in a home deemed unsafe due to its cladding. We passed this in the House of Lords and now await a Government response.

Baroness Kath Pinnock is a Liberal Democrat peer.