Question to the Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what protections are in place for leaseholders in buildings eligible for Government assistance to remediate defective cladding whose owners decide not to apply and to charge leaseholders for the work instead.

The Government has been very clear that it is the responsibility of the building owner, landlord or responsible person to ensure the safety of residents in buildings with unsafe cladding systems. We expect building owners and landlords to pursue all avenues to fund the remediation costs for unsafe cladding without passing on costs to leaseholders, by meeting these costs from their own resources, by claiming on insurance policies or warranties, or taking legal action. Where this is not possible the Government is making an unprecedented £5 billion available to fund the cost of replacing unsafe cladding for leaseholders in residential buildings 18 metres and over in England. Building owners and landlords should therefore not be seeking to charge leaseholders for the costs of remediation of unsafe cladding on buildings that are eligible for Government funding and should instead apply for the funding.