Boris Johnson facing new Tory rebellion as more than 30 MPs back moves to protect homeowners from the cost of replacing faulty cladding in the wake of deadly Grenfell Tower Disaster
- MPs want stronger protection for leaseholders from exorbitant repair costs
- They say freeholders could land them with five-figure bills and just weeks to pay
- Robert Jenrick unveiled £5billion cladding scheme at the start of February
- But only buildings above 18m tall – six storeys – would have repair costs covered
Boris Johnson was attempting to see off a fresh backbench rebellion tonight as more than 30 Tory MPs backed attempts to help homeowners lumbered with the cost of replacing faulty cladding in the wake of the Grenfell Tower Disaster.
They are supporting an amendment to fire safety rules that would protect leaseholders from the costs of carrying out emergency work on their flats to replace the deadly facing material.
Downing Street today claimed that Steve McPartland’s amendment to the Fire Safety Bill – which returns to the Commons on Wednesday – would ‘slow things down’ as it introduces new rules governing repairs to high-rise homes.
MPs behind the move – which has opposition party backing – say it is essential to prevent leaseholders suddenly being presented with bills potentially running to tens of thousands of pounds with just weeks to pay.
Stevenage MP Mr McPartland, who tabled the amendment with fellow Tory Royston Smith, said he wants a safety net for leaseholders to ensure fire safety works are undertaken, and hopes leaseholders do not have to pay and that the issues can be resolved.
He said that under the terms of the legislation, many freeholders could simply pass on the costs of any remedial work they are ordered to carry out by the fire service.
In a message posted on his website urging MPs to back the move, he warned: ‘Depending on the terms of the lease and the costs involved, this could easily be a requirement for a leaseholder to pay £50,000 within weeks.’
The Stevenage MP told the Commons: ‘We already have leaseholders in their thousands up and down the country who are on the verge of bankruptcy, some have already gone bankrupt, and that’s just waiting before they actually get to the costs of this remediation.
‘Today, I urge the Government to either accept our amendment, let us vote on our amendment, or work with us to ensure that in the Lords, we resolve these issues and leaseholders do not have to pay.’
More than a million homeowners have been left unable to sell or remortgage their flats since the Grenfell Tower inferno in Kensington, west London, which killed 72 people in June 2017
Downing Street today claimed that Steve McPartland’s amendment to the Fire Safety Bill would ‘slow things down’ as it introduces new rules governing repairs to high-rise homes
Robert Jenrick unveiled the long-awaited £5billion scheme for victims of the cladding scandal at the start of February.
But he revealed that only buildings above 18m tall – or six storeys – would have the cost of replacing the outside of the building covered by the Government.
People living in shorter buildings will have to pay for the repairs themselves using a ‘long-term, low-interest’ loan scheme that will cap their costs at £50 a month.
But the loan will remain with the property rather that the leaseholder, raising fears it will affect their ability to later sell it.
Additionally they and hundreds of thousands of people in the high-rise blocks will still be left to pay for other defects they did not cause. Many of the firms which applied the cladding have gone bust since Grenfell and will not have to pay a contribution.
Around four million people are stuck in dangerous buildings, with more than a million flat-owners facing crippling costs for safety measures and special insurance.
The scandal has left families facing repair bills of up to £115,000, and without Government action hundreds of thousands of flats are unsellable.
No 10 blasted the amendment today, urging would-be rebels to ‘look carefully’ at the move as the Government held talks with would-be rebels on the Conservative backbenches.
Downing Street has insisted it has already put in place a ‘large package’ of support for leaseholders living in blocks covered in dangerous cladding.
The Prime Minister’s press secretary, Allegra Stratton, said: ‘Our problem with McPartland’s amendment is that, far from speeding things up for constituents across the country who are worried about finding themselves in these properties, it would actually slow things down.’
Later Home Office minister Kit Malthouse said that the bill ‘is not the correct place for remediation costs to be addressed’.
‘It is a short, but critical Bill to clarify that the fire safety order applies to the external walls including cladding and flat entrance doors in multi-occupied residential buildings. This means the responsible person must include these parts of the building in their fire risk assessment.
‘This does not include the remediation of historic defects, it does not have the necessary legislative detail that would be needed to underpin these amendments in regulations.
‘The Building Safety Bill is the appropriate legislative mechanism for addressing these issues and it will be introduced in the spring. It will contain the detailed and complex legislation that is needed to address remediation costs.’
Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said ‘the Government simply hasn’t acted’ on fire safety since the Grenfell tragedy which claimed 72 lives in 2017.
At a roundtable meeting ahead of the Commons debate, the Labour MP said: ‘Homes should be a safe place for people, people shouldn’t have to live with anxiety, people shouldn’t have to live with fear.
‘The Government has the opportunity to do the right thing today.
‘Support amendments that prevent freeholders from passing on fire safety remedial costs and honour the commitment to act on the recommendations from phase one of the Grenfell Tower Inquiry.’
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