Labour MP for Birmingham Ladywood, Shabana Mahmood, is urging leaseholders of high-rise properties across the West Midlands not to miss out on the financial support available through the Building Safety Fund, which closes on 31 July.

The news fund will meet the cost of remedial works required to make non-ACM flammable cladding safe on residential buildings that are over 18 metres in height and do not comply with current building safety regulations. Reports have indicated that applications to the fund from properties in Birmingham have been unexpectedly low. Shabana is currently in the process of writing to leaseholders who may be affected to remind them of this looming deadline.

Shabana Mahmood MP said:

“I’m really quite concerned that there are leaseholders out there who may miss out on the funding I and others have been pushing so hard for on their behalf. I would urge all constituents in Birmingham Ladywood and across the West Midlands to urgently make an application to the Building Safety Fund if you are eligible and haven’t done so already.

“I know that many leaseholders are still facing soaring insurance premiums and some of them won’t even be eligible for this fund. I am continuing to work on a cross-party basis to secure the further action we desperately need from the government but, until then, it is vital that leaseholders make use of what support they do have.

“We are making progress towards finally ending this cladding scandal. I know that the government’s response has been intolerably slow and this has had a huge impact on many leaseholders’ and tenants’ mental health, but I am confident we will secure the changes they need and deserve.”

Over the last 6 months, Shabana has been campaigning alongside local leaseholders, the Birmingham Leaseholder Action Group, the UK Cladding Action Group, and others to secure action from the government on the many outstanding issues still facing leaseholders following the Grenfell fire tragedy.

In May, Shabana led a cross-party call on the Chancellor of the Exchequer to take urgent action to address the over ten-fold rises in insurance premiums some leaseholders have faced as a result of having unsafe cladding fitted on their properties. She has previously said it is a matter of “fair play and decency” and has been incredibly frustrated that ministers have continued to drag their feet on the issue. The Birmingham Ladywood MP has also raised concerns about the high number of people who have been excluded from the Building Safety Fund, including those whose properties are tall but not 18 metres in height and those leaseholders who have already agreed to, or started remedial works prior to the fund being made available.

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. The Building Safety Fund closes for applications on 31 July 2020. Leaseholders can apply here: https://www.research.net/r/bsfregistration.
2. For further information or comment, please contact Will Hingley on 07880 231914 or email will@cathoddu.com.