Labour puts the boot into forced loans to cladding leaseholders

Labour MPs have demanded that at-risk cladding sites be prioritised and that leaseholders and taxpayers are protected from the huge remediation bill.

A debate has been secured for Monday afternoon to discuss the following motion:

‘That this House calls on the Government to urgently establish the extent of dangerous cladding and prioritise buildings according to risk; provide upfront funding to ensure cladding remediation can start immediately; protect leaseholders and taxpayers from the cost by pursuing those responsible for the cladding crisis; and update Parliament once a month in the form of a Written Ministerial Statement by the Secretary of State.‘

Labour press statement is here:

Labour to force vote to protect millions of leaseholders impacted by cladding scandal – The Labour Party

Labour will hold a vote on Monday to force government action on the cladding scandal and protect millions of leaseholders from life-changing cladding costs and unsellable properties. Almost four years on from the Grenfell tragedy, the Government has failed to get a grip of the cladding scandal, which is now estimated to affect millions of homes and as much as 16 per cent of Britain’s housing stock.

This is an endorsement of the LKP approach to the funding cladding remediation and a repudiation to the proposal for long-term forced loans to leaseholders recoverable through the service charge advocated by insurance businessman Michael Wade.

In addition, the motion is urging that at-risk buildings be prioritised for remediation.

At present, officials are nodding through cladding sites which provide the correct paperwork for cladding remediation even though they may not be the most at risk or most needy.

It has been reported here that the £1 billion non-ACM cladding fund is at least four times over subscribed.

Non-ACM Building Safety Fund is four times over-subscribed and is doling out £2m per block

Mr Wade has been tasked by government to come up with a cladding remediation funding solution, and did so following following the obligations of leasehold law: which mean that hapless leaseholders get dumped with bills for building safety defects.

LKP proposal urges a fund to remediate buildings based on levies from the housebuilders and cladding manufacturers responsible for the crisis.

In addition, we believe the case for levies off these companies will be stronger as evidence is gathered by the Grenfell Inquiry.

Why is Michael Wade rushing forced loans on leaseholders before Grenfell Inquiry considers government and housebuilders’ failings?

And the Spectator is unimpressed, too:

The ‘cladding tax’ could end up being a disastrous mistake | The Spectator

Since the first buildings with dangerous cladding were discovered in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire, one question has hung continuously over all efforts to make them safe: who is going to pay? Now, after three and a half years of stilted progress, the government appears to be on the verge…