黑洞社区

The government has been warned the building safety measures it announced yesterday could have a string of unintended consequences.

A tax on developers could inhibit new schemes and push up property prices, while the 黑洞社区 Safety Fund application process is so complex it is deterring building owners who urgently want to improve safety for their residents, said Katherine Metcalfe, legal director at law firm Pinsent Masons.

There was also widespread anger at how many people were left out of the Robert Jenrick鈥檚 package of support which will see the government forward-fund the cost of cladding repairs alone, and only for buildings over 18m.

Housing association L&Q said many of its affected leaseholders would be disappointed that the government had not addressed non-cladding safety issues or buildings under 18m. 鈥淭here is still a lot of work to do to make all affected homes safe, as this is about more than just removing and remediating cladding,鈥� said a spokesperson.

Former RIBA president Jane Duncan, chair of the institute鈥檚 Fire Safety Expert Panel, said she was 鈥渇rankly shocked by the government鈥檚 continued underestimation of the scale of our building safety crisis鈥�.

She added: 鈥淔ire does not discriminate by height. By only agreeing to fund removal of dangerous cladding on high-risk residential buildings above 18m and offering a second-rate loan scheme to the desperate owners of buildings above 11m, policymakers are continuing to fail thousands of vulnerable people.鈥�

Simon He, technical director at Farrells, where he led the architect鈥檚 post-Grenfell fire audit, said the measures did not 鈥渞espond to the crux of the problem and ensure history doesn鈥檛 repeat itself on new projects鈥�.

He added: 鈥淲ith the Gateway 2 developer levy, we鈥檙e at risk of 鈥榟istoric鈥� collective responsibility going on for quite some time if there is not a wider commitment to non-combustible materials from the outset of design.

鈥淒espite the industry鈥檚 best efforts there are legally compliant schemes underway at the moment which don鈥檛 use favourable materials. We need clearer responsibility, accountability and more upskilling in material choices and research to remedy the mistakes of the past.鈥�

A Barratt Developments spokesman said it supported a fair levy as part of a way of easing the burden on homeowners without threatening the future supply of much-needed new homes.

鈥淲e welcome government鈥檚 focus on this issue. As we have previously stated, we do not believe affected leaseholders should have to pay for remediation work on their buildings and while all of our developments were approved in line with the relevant building regulations, we believe that developers and the broader sector have a collective responsibility to be a part of the solution to these complex problems,鈥� he said.

But Andrew Southern, chairman of property developer Southern Grove, said it was 鈥渓aughable鈥� to penalise developers who were not responsible for the cladding crisis.

鈥淭his sort of regressive tax will only stagnate housebuilding, which is the exact opposite of what the UK needs,鈥� he said. 鈥淏y applying it only to the largest developers building the tallest buildings, it will also disincentivise creation of housing in the high-density areas that are badly in need of new stock.鈥�

David Westgate, chief executive of Andrews Property Group, said by excluding people in lower-rise blocks the government had 鈥渓et down millions of UK homeowners who bought a property in good faith only to find it鈥檚 become a chain around their necks鈥�. He added: 鈥淭he law says they don鈥檛 need an EWS1 form but the reality is completely different. Without a form to show the cladding is safe, mortgage companies are reluctant to lend on a property block with cladding even if it鈥檚 below 18m in height.鈥�

Tristan Wark, a senior associate in commercial real estate at law firm Goodman Derrick, lives in a flat where the cladding has been assessed as not meeting the required standards. The owner of his building plans to commence remediation works this year.

He said the announcement was a step in the right direction that he hoped would provide some comfort to people in similar situations.

鈥淭he cladding issue has been and remains a huge cause of concern for leaseholders, building owners and lenders,鈥� he said. 鈥淟easeholders have inevitably been hardest hit by this issue to date, being trapped in homes that they cannot sell, and suffering the anxiety of not only knowing that they live in a building of unacceptable fire safety, but also that they potentially face the huge costs of remediation.鈥�

His colleague Tom Pemberton said many questions remained about the small scope of the government鈥檚 intervention. 鈥淚t will鈥� not provide any cover at all for lower-rise buildings, and it seems that it will not cover the cost of other essential work to make buildings of any height safe. For example, a fire risk is often presented by faulty smoke ventilation systems and combustible insulation inside the external wall (not the external cladding). These elements need to be signed off by accredited fire safety professionals before properties become mortgageable and marketable.鈥�

Andrew Mellor, a partner at housing architect PRP, said the additional funding would 鈥済o a long way鈥� but that more clarity was needed on the financing mechanism for lower-rise buildings and whether balconies will be included.

鈥淔acade remediation is by far the highest cost that leaseholders will face, and now building owners must respond to get buildings remediated and safe as soon as possible, thereby reducing other interim costs such as insurance and waking watch,鈥� he said.

鈥淥ur concern is that building owners and the wider industry do not have the capacity to respond to the magnitude of buildings that need to be concurrently remediated. It will consequently be five to 10 years before the nation has completed all of the building safety works.鈥�

Speaking in the Commons yesterday, housing secretary Robert Jenrick said the government will provide 拢3.5bn in grants to pay for cladding repairs on high rises, on top of the 拢1.6bn already allocated, making a 拢5bn fund in total. Those living in buildings lower than 18 metres 鈥� around six storeys 鈥� will be expected to take out a loan, secured against the property, with the guarantee that payments for individuals will never exceed 拢50 a month.

He also announced two separate tax initiatives to raise money to pay for cladding remediation. From 2022 a residential development tax will be introduced designed to raise at least 拢2bn over 10 years, levied on the 鈥渓argest residential developers鈥�. In addition, Jenrick announced a new 鈥淕ateway 2鈥� levy, to be paid 鈥渨hen developers seek permission to develop certain high-rise buildings in England鈥�.

The housing ministry did not say how the taxes will work or which firms would be liable but promised to consult on both tax schemes in 鈥渄ue course鈥�.