Cladding: Fire safety bill could leave leaseholders 'bankrupt'

Campaigners are urging the government to go further to protect leaseholders living in flats from "financial ruin".

The Fire Safety Bill for England - introduced to strengthen regulations following the Grenfell Tower fire - returns to the Commons on Wednesday.

But flat owners say it doesn't go far enough and they will still face costs up to £50,000 over safety issues.

More than 30 Tory MPs want changes to ensure leaseholders will not have to pay for emergency fire safety work.

But No 10 has hinted it is unlikely to move, with a Downing Street spokeswoman saying: "We think the package we have come forward with is the right balance and will sort this issue for them and their constituents."

Following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, which killed 72 people, many blocks were found to be unsafe and thousands of flat owners have since faced huge bills to pay for repairs.

Earlier this month the government announced it was putting £3.5bn towards removing unsafe cladding from buildings over 18m high.

This comes on top of a further £1.6bn for cladding removal announced last year.

The government also said owners of flats in lower-rise blocks would be able to access loans to cover repair work - and that they would not have to pay back more than £50 a month.

But many MPs are worried the government's Fire Safety Bill does not provide sufficient protection for owners.

Two backbench MPs - Stephen McPartland and Royston Smith - have put forward an amendment to the bill, saying while the current proposal offers help on cladding, other safety costs could be passed on to residents.

Writing on his website, Mr McPartland said: "Leaseholders are being bankrupted by these costs in all our communities and cannot sell their properties with these debts attached.

"We cannot abandon leaseholders to the crippling costs of massive insurance premiums, waking watch and remediation of defects which were not deemed unsafe when they bought their property."

Steve Day, of the Royal Artillery Quays Residents Association, is supporting the MPs, telling BBC Radio 4's Today programme that leaseholders were facing 1000% hikes in insurance costs alone, but with no support from government.

He warned the bill, which would see fire officials be able to order immediate changes to blocks, would lead to building owners passing on other safety costs apart from cladding, and push leaseholders "towards bankruptcy and financial ruin".

Mr Day added: "There is quite a lot missing from this bill. We are very grateful because it is a good first step, but it is obviously not going to stop people going into bankruptcy.

"This [amendment] is the only chance we have today to stop bankruptcy tomorrow."

The rebel Tories also have the support of the Bishop of Kensington, Graham Tomlin, whose diocese includes Grenfell Tower.

He told Today: "Sacrifice needs to be born across the board, particularly if there is a moral case to be made about who pays, and at the end of the day, it has to go back to those who put up the building.

"If you buy a car and discover a dangerous flaw in it, you should be able to go back to the manufacturer to put it right rather than pay for it yourself."

The bishop added: "If the bill goes through unamended, it goes through with the possibility of building owners passing on the bills to leaseholders. That doesn't seem fair to me."

The backbench amendment - tabled by Mr McPartland and Mr Smith - has support from Labour, who called on the government to "do the right thing".

Shadow policing and fire minister Sarah Jones said: "This is an opportunity for the government to finally put the public's safety first and to deliver on the promises it has made to leaseholders.

"Blameless victims of this crisis, who are living in dangerous homes and facing financial ruin, expect nothing less."

Although the amendment has support from opposition MPs, the government's large majority - and the fact that only English MPs can vote on the bill - mean it is unlikely to pass.