The Government has announced that it will require the developers responsible for the dangerous defects and cladding to pay for remediation – rather than dumping the significant costs on the innocent leaseholders, as has been its previous policy.

After significant lobbying by leaseholders and campaign groups, the Government is now suggesting that any developers who do not pay will be excluded from Government funding, planning and procurement processes and could even end up in court.

Notably absent from the proposals is anything to curb sky-high insurance costs or support to address non-cladding defects, which can be just as dangerous as external cladding.

Shabana Mahmood, MP for Birmingham Ladywood has been campaigning for a number of years on behalf of the hundreds of leaseholders in Birmingham who have been let down time and again.

Commenting on the announcement, Shabana Mahmood MP said:

“Whilst I welcome the changes announced today, it is completely unacceptable that it has taken nearly five years to get to this point.

“Of course, the real test will be in the delivery and I’m hoping that after many false starts from this Government the measures announced today will stand up to scrutiny.

“In particular, I welcome the decision to prohibit developers who are not paying their share from procurement and planning processes – something I and others have long been campaigning for.

“But these proposals do nothing to support those living with non-cladding defects, nor will it fix the long-term problem of soaring insurance costs that innocent leaseholders simply cannot afford.

“The Government must now set out a detailed plan for making developers pay as well as crystal clear legal protections for leaseholders through the Building Safety Bill to ensure that developers responsible for this scandal are held to account.”

ENDS

Notes for Editors:

• In the House of Commons Chamber today, the Housing Secretary set out new proposals to address the cladding crisis: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-forces-developers-to-fix-cladding-crisis
• Shabana has worked for years to protect leaseholders from building safety costs, including repeated calls for irresponsible developers to be excluded from planning and government procurement processes: https://www.shabanamahmood.org/2021/06/04/shabana-renews-calls-to-demand-government-action-on-cladding-scandal/
• Shabana is currently working with leaseholders in Birmingham Ladywood to understand how the proposals will impact them, which will inform her work in Westminster holding the Government to account.