We don’t often reference the Daily Mail here on LDV. But this week they published a generally supportive article (with photos of both Ed Davey and Hina Bokhari): Campaigners call for more help for cladding-hit flat owners and a proper overhaul of leaseholds after latest vote on Building Safety Bill.

Leaseholders across the country, particularly in cities with high rise blocks of flats, are concerned that they will have to pay for the replacement of dangerous cladding.

The Government insists that leaseholders are protected from the costs of dangerous buildings.

Earlier this year, the Secretary of State for Housing Michael Gove said leaseholders ‘are blameless, and it is morally wrong that they should be the ones asked to pay the price’.

However, recent Government amendments to the Building Safety Bill include some caveats, meaning many leaseholders could still have to pay life-changing sums for the remediation work.

A recent survey by the End Our Cladding Scandal campaign of more than 2,200 properties in buildings over 11 metres suggested that 64 per cent of leaseholders outside of London and 83 per cent of leaseholders in London will not be protected from all costs to fix non-cladding fire safety defects.

The item includes a photo of Ed Davey addressing the rally outside Parliament earlier this week and two further ones of London Assembly member Hina Bokhari with protesters. Hina is quoted at length:

There needs to be Government responsibility on the issue of leasehold. It needs to do an umbrella approach on this.

We have learnt as the years have gone on that it is not just about cladding. There are so many issues with leaseholders and unless they deal with it properly, it is never going to end.

There needs to be a more serious approach to this. Gove needs to focus on leasehold issues only as it is a massive issue in itself. It has to be done properly. It cannot be a piecemeal approach as there are too many victims.

Leaseholders feel trapped, it is horrible for them and the pressure on them is constant.

The Lords had proposed changes to the Bill which would have protected all but the most wealthy leaseholders, but these were then rejected by the Commons. The Bill is still going through the ping-pong stage so there is still some hope that the legislation will be amended.

For full details of the progress of the Bill see the Daily Mail article (I never thought I would write that …)

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