Experience: my dream flat became a nightmare

Hayley Tillotson: ‘I watched my bank account drain to pennies.’ Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian The day I got the keys to my one-bedroom flat in central Leeds in April 2019 was the proudest moment of my life. I’d spent four years saving a £10,000 deposit from my salary as […] Click here to view original…

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Government names and shames companies yet to start ACM remediation work

The government has published a list of companies who have failed to begin removing the cladding blamed for the Grenfell Tower fire from buildings they are responsible for. In an update on the progress of ACM remediation works, the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government (MHCLG) said 14 […] Click here to view original…

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Bishops attack gagging clause in cladding-removal contracts

Workers removing the cladding from the exterior of a block of flats in Paddington, north London, last month IT IS a scandal that leaseholders in high-rise flats who wish to apply for government funds to remove flammable cladding are prevented from talking to the press, Church of England bishops […] Click here to view original…

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Sheffield’s council block cladding: What went wrong?

Following the Grenfell Tower fire in June 2017, the Government instructed all local authorities to test the cladding on all high-rise buildings to verify their safety. Of the 24 residential tower blocks owned by Sheffield City Council, the Hanover Tower block (in my ward of Broomhill and Sharrow Vale) […] Click here to view original…

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‘Risk-based’ approach to EWS1 situation planned

ACCORDING TO the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the government and banks are working on a more ‘risk-based’ approach to assessing properties with cladding. Last month , Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed in parliament that a reassessment of the form was being undertaken by RICS, after the news earlier this […] Click here to view original…

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Protect leaseholders from cladding removal costs, say MPs

The government must make clear how it will protect leaseholders from having to pay towards removing flammable cladding from their homes, MPs say. The Commons housing committee said it was alarmed some individuals would be liable for correcting historical defects under proposed legislation. It said a £1.6bn government fund […] Click here to view original…

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