Question to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government:

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, what steps her Department is taking to support leaseholders at Horizon Place in Borehamwood affected by cladding remediation issues.

Vistry Group has signed a developer remediation contract with government obligating Vistry Group to remediate or pay to remediate all life-critical fire safety defects in buildings listed in its contract, including Horizon Place, as quickly as reasonably practicable. This means that leaseholders will not pay for remediation. The contract requires developers to make sure that residents and leaseholders are kept up to date. The Ministry monitors developer performance and acts where a developer is failing to comply with its contractual obligations.

Work has been ongoing to bring about ways to reduce premiums for leaseholders, and the Government will review how to better protect leaseholders from costs and push for fair premiums for leaseholders in buildings with fire safety issues. Leaseholders wanting to sell their properties to buyers who require a mortgage, should be aware of the industry statement on cladding, signed by 10 lenders. It confirms that, even if a property has building safety issues, lenders will consider mortgage applications if the building has funding for works from government or the developer, as is the case at Horizon Wood, or the property is protected by the leaseholder protections in the Building Safety Act.