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Why are landlords deliberately excluded from cladding help?

The National Residential Landlords Association is seeking clarification from gov ernment about whether landlords are included in the latest measure to help leaseholders with cladding remediation.

An announcement by Michael Gove, the Housing Secretary, left it unclear whether a new £4 billion fund to remediate towers under 18.5 metres but over 11 metres would apply to landlord owners as well as owner occupiers.

Gove says: “We have scrapped the proposal for loans so that leaseholders living in their own medium and high-rise buildings should not pay a penny to fix dangerous cladding.

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“Working with members of both Houses, we will look to bring a raft of leaseholder protections into law through our Building Safety bill.

“And we will restore much needed common sense on building safety assessments, ending the practice of too many buildings being declared unsafe.”

“More than four years after the Grenfell Tower tragedy, the system is broken. Leaseholders are trapped, unable to sell their homes and facing vast bills.

“But the developers and cladding companies who caused the problem are dodging accountability and have made vast profits during the pandemic whilst hard-working families have struggled.”

However, it remains uncertain whether the term “leaseholders living in their own medium and high-rise buildings…” effectively excludes landlords.

 

So now the NRLA has written to Gove’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to seek a definitive view.

The letter - from NRLA chief executive Ben Beadle - says: “We are concerned as to why the government is so reluctant at present to commit to landlords, who are leaseholders, receiving the same support as owner-occupiers. Both groups have faced the same problems, and both should be treated equally. We are calling on the government to rectify this problem as a matter of urgency.”

Elsewhere in the letter he says: “We question also how this situation would be fair to accidental landlords who were forced to rent out their properties because they could not sell due to cladding uncertainties. I should be grateful for urgent clarification on this point and for an opportunity to discuss this with the department.”

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    If landlord leaseholders are excluded could the work be carried out at all?
    Isn't it a similar situation to why landlord leaseholders can't have cavity wall or external insulation to meet EPC targets if the owner occupier leaseholders in the same building don't also agree to have it and pay their share?
    Surely the building has to be treated as a whole so all forms of ownership or occupation should be treated equally.
    What would happen in the case of someone who owns a percentage of their leasehold flat under a shared ownership scheme? Would that flat be included as part of its owner lives there or excluded because part of its owner is a landlord?
    If landlords are excluded the government is penalising tenants. If the landlord is bankrupted the tenant is homeless. If the landlord manages to pay for the work they are likely to increase the rent by as much as the market will stand so the tenant either faces a reduced standard of living or has the expense and inconvenience of moving somewhere cheaper.

    Matthew Payne

    The short answer is no, it wont start until they have the financial commitment from all units. Lets hope government understands this otherwise their plan will stall on day 1.

     
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    It shows how entrenched the idea that all LLs are wealthy goes. I am sure there are many LLs as badly affected by cladding as home owners - unable to rent or sell their property but still with a mortgage to pay.

    Richard Law

    Dear EDITOR, can we have some readers stories about this⤴️ It’s something I’ve not read about in terms of LL that have bought into the Leasehold apartment area of this world and stuck in this situation. There’s obviously a lot in the news about live in owners and tenants but not read much about LL’s stuck in this situation. Sounds a nightmare. Totally agree with two comments above too. It has to be everyone is covered.

     
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    The fact this is even a question is a real concern, it shows how LL's are viewed by all parties. as said above, a lot of people view us as rich and able to fund the cladding costs out of our petty cash !!!

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    Dear All ,if small landlords with a single flat in blocks over 18m are to be excluded from protection do you think that direct legal action against the developers is the only option. The surveys that established the problems with the external walls were carried out months ago by the management company, does anyone know if small landlords can use these surveys in any action. In my case the NHBC is involved as well dealing with discovered fire break defects , and still considering building reg compliance 2012 ( covered) v 2018 ( not covered ) , it is clearly very confusing. Should landlords be collectively acting ?

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