Following the Grenfell disaster on June 14^th 2017, the existence of potentially dangerous cladding on high-rise buildings has been a matter of concern to many thousands of apartment owners.

The External Wall Survey system that was introduced as a part-measure to resolve this has not worked perfectly, with too few qualified surveyors available to undertake the work, and surveyors recommending that these checks be undertaken in circumstances where they were not intended to be required.

Even though 6 major lenders have recently announced a shift in policy

The Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities have now published the contract that is intended to give legal force to the pledge obtained from major housebuilders to fix these defects. It has given developers a deadline of 13 March 2023 to sign up to this.

The intention is that the developers will be required to:

• Reimburse taxpayers for public funds used for remedial works;
• Address life-critical, fire-safety defects which arise from the design and construction of buildings 11m and taller in height that they developed or refurbished over the last 30 years in England
• Keep residents in the affected buildings updated on the progress of meeting this commitment

This contract will be enforced by preventing developers from commencing developments for which they have planning permission and from receiving building control approval for construction that is underway.

There are some concerns that have been raised about the terms of the contract being watered down, and that the contract does not require interim safety costs to be covered by the developers, including waking watches and fire alarms.

As a result of the devastating costs that the cladding scandal has imposed on many affected buildings, this has brought what many feel to be the unfairness in leaseholds into sharp focus.

Housing Secretary Michael Gove has said that he wants to abolish the leasehold system and the Government have committed to a leasehold bill in the coming session of Parliament – but this is not likely to be simple or quick to enact, in view of the level of detail and cross-party support that will be needed to ensure that any such abolition achieves the stated aim of corrected the unfairness complained of.

Whatever happens, the next several months are likely to be a very interesting time in property!

For further information on anything mentioned in this article, or any other property law query, contact Anthony Fripp at WBW Solicitors in Torquay on 01803 407625 or email anthonyfripp@wbw.co.uk.

WBW has offices in Torquay, Paignton, Newton Abbot, Exeter, Bovey Tracey,  Exmouth,  Honiton,  Sidmouth,  Launceston,  Axminster, Chard and Seaton.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal or professional advice. Please note that the law may have changed since this article was published.