Government To Fund Replacement Of Grenfell Style Cladding
9 May 2019, 07:42 | Updated: 9 May 2019, 07:45
£200 million will be made available to remove and replace unsafe cladding from around 170 privately owned high-rise buildings after landlords failed to act.
Thousands of people are still living in high-rise buildings that contain the same type of cladding that led to the deaths of 72 people in the Grenfell disaster.
The Government said the action was being taken because "private building owners failed to take action and tried to offload costs onto leaseholders".
Similar work for social housing has already been fully funded by the government. However, concerns were raised by pressure groups that private landlords were slow to act.
Under the plan leaseholders will be given three months to apply for funding. One condition will be that building owners take "reasonable steps" to recover the costs from those responsible for the cladding's presence.
Prime Minister Theresa May said: "It is of paramount importance that everybody is able to feel and be safe in their homes.
"That's why we asked building owners in the private sector to take action and make sure appropriate safety measures were in place.
"And we've seen a number of private building owners doing the right thing and taking responsibility, but unfortunately too many are continuing to pass on the costs of removal and replacement to leaseholders.
"Today I can confirm we will now be fully funding the replacement of cladding on high-rise private residential buildings so residents can feel confident they are secure in their homes."
