Irwin Mitchell comment: Cladding crisis announcement from Michael Gove

Jeremy Raj, national head of residential property firm Irwin Mitchell, comments on the cladding crisis announcement from Michael Gove.

Today Michael Gove’s announcement that he will ‘force’ developers to pay for the cladding crisis, rather than putting the burden on leaseholders who bought properties in good faith, has been met with a mixed reaction from experts in the property industry.

Lawyers at leading national law firm Irwin Mitchell say the blame is not solely with the developers – and saying so ultimately hurts the leaseholders unable to move on with their lives.

Jeremy Raj said:

“The sentiments and ambition of Mr Gove’s statement today were praiseworthy and long overdue. The reality of his proposals are however as yet of questionable efficacy and breadth. The truth is that the fifth anniversary of Building Safety reaching its current level of crisis for leaseholders in taller blocks of flats in particular, is fast approaching.

“The acknowledgement today that reaction to date has been slow and ineffective will be cold comfort, particularly in relation to those with non-cladding issues that affect their properties. Government must indeed accept when its own performance has not been acceptable and ensure a rapid improvement.

“The cladding on Grenfell had nothing to do with current or historic developers of new build homes, having been retro-fitted many years after the original build, using materials that were clearly dangerous that seem to have been ignored or waved through by the regulatory authorities.

“The idea that responsibility for resolving the cladding scandal – which has now widened to become a general building safety scandal – should be laid solely at the doors of developers asked to voluntarily cough up more cash, is likely to lead only to further delay and heartbreak for leaseholders caught in dangerous or un-sellable properties.

“Many will be puzzled as to how and to what extent they can justify such expenditure on a ‘voluntary’ basis in the context of their obligations to shareholders, and a lack of direct responsibility, particularly given clear evidence of contributory negligence by others. As Irwin Mitchell have been saying from the outset, fixing dangerous buildings (of whatever height) should be dealt with as a priority using up-front Government money, with clawback provisions activated as soon as the extent and identity of all liable parties has been established under due legal process.

“In the context of an acute national shortage of safe, suitable and environmentally sound housing stock, it will not help to demonise and threaten all developers if they can clearly see that the manufacturers and suppliers of those dangerous materials, the poorly resourced regulators and the industry as a whole, seem to be being let off the hook.

“It now seems clear that the Treasury has firmly shut the door to further funds being made available and that, along with planning reform, a full upgrade and proper funding of Building Control remains a distant hope for the future. Nobody wants the leaseholders caught up in the post-Grenfell nightmare to continue to suffer, and it is right that they should be absolved of financial responsibility for making their buildings safe.

“However, significant issues relating to building safety remain in addition to the cladding problems and many of our clients do not appear to be helped by today’s announcement in resolving the problems with the homes they bought in good faith, expecting them to be safe to live in and easy to sell on.”

Kindly shared by Irwin Mitchell

Main photo courtesy of Pixabay