Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:
To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether it remains his policy that the cost of removing unsafe cladding on buildings should be borne by the freehold owners of those properties and not by leaseholders.
The Government has committed to fully fund the removal and replacement of unsafe ACM cladding on private sector residential high-rise buildings. Government intervention is wholly exceptional due to the unparalleled fire risk ACM poses.
Building safety is the responsibility of the building owner, and they must remedy any safety risks uncovered. Building owners should consider all routes to meet costs, and protect leaseholders – for example through warranties and recovering costs from contractors for incorrect or poor work.