‘Lessons from past not learned’ by Grenfell cladding testing firm, inquiry hears
The Grenfell Tower in west London Lessons from the past have not been learned by the firm that fire tested cladding used on Grenfell Tower, an inquiry into the disaster has heard. Phase two of the probe is examining how the skyscraper in west London came to be coated […]Click here to view original web…
Row erupts over £4bn cladding fund as housebuilders take legal advice
HBF accuses government of issuing ‘disproportionate’ threats against industry over fire safety repairs The principle trade body representing housebuilders is taking legal advice following a public threat by Michael Gove to stop them from trading if they don’t pay into a £4bn fund to help leaseholders hit by the […] Click here to view original…
Cladding crisis: ‘The risk of life-changing bills is still there’
Image caption, There are 19 tower blocks in Ipswich requiring work to make them fire safe Housing Secretary Michael Gove has warned firms who “profited” from the cladding crisis that they would have to pay for their mistakes. What does his announcement mean to those affected? In the aftermath […] Click here to view original…
Backlash over plans for a 51-storey London residential tower more than DOUBLE the height of Grenfell with just ONE fire escape stairway for more than 400 flats – as London Fire Brigade says it fails to provide ‘means of escape’
Council planning chiefs are facing a furious backlash from fire safety campaigners after recommending the approval of a new 51-floor skyscraper with just one exit staircase. Developers want to build the new 570ft high block of flats on the outskirts of London ‘s Canary Wharf. If approved, the 421-flat […] Click here to view original…
Waking Watch Replacement Fund opens for applications
Government announces additional £27 million to install fire alarms in all buildings where a Waking Watch is in place Thousands more leaseholders to be free of rip off Waking Watch measures, saving them on average £163 a month New measures will help end the disgraceful misuse of Waking Watches […] Click here to view original…
SNP chiefs accused of ‘flagrant hypocrisy’ after delaying possible ban on dodgy cladding after Grenfell review
MINISTERS have been accused of “flagrant hypocrisy” for quietly pushing back a possible legal ban on risky cladding after a review prompted by the Grenfell Tower disaster. Holyrood chiefs last year said they would make changes “early in 2022” following an expert review and canvassing views on legal rules. […] Click here to view original…
Teacher forced out of retirement as flats turn into nightmare
A retired teacher has seen his ‘lifetime’s earnings’ obliterated by the potential of cladding remediation costs and the rising price of being a leaseholder When a retired school teacher purchased two flats in a brand new development in Liverpool in 2015, he thought he would be making an investment […] Click here to view original…
Buy-to-let landlords facing cladding bills ‘makes no sense’, ministers warned
Contractors undertake works at a residential property in Paddington, London, as part of a project to remove and replace non-compliant cladding. Landlords have warned the Government that getting buy-to-let landlords to pay for cladding removal “makes no sense”. Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), […] Click here to view original…
‘The stress is immense’ – Landlord lumped with £46k debt over cladding saga
Landlord Ross Bonner, inset, said his service charges and cladding project contributions were becoming unaffordable – Credit: Ross Bonner/ Charlotte Bond A landlord is in eye-watering debt as the fallout of the cladding scandal has trebled his service charges and caused his insurance premiums to skyrocket. Ross Bonner, 33, […] Click here to view original…
Buy-to-let landlords facing cladding bills ‘makes no sense’, ministers warned
Contractors undertake works at a residential property in Paddington, London, as part of a project to remove and replace non-compliant cladding. Landlords have warned the Government that getting buy-to-let landlords to pay for cladding removal “makes no sense”. Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), […] Click here to view original…
The limits of limitation – Is the 11th hour too late for UK cladding claims?
In this article we consider recent Technology and Construction Court caselaw; specifically dealing with risks to building owners when trying to bring a claim for fire safety defects (including cladding), where the limitation deadline is approaching. The plight of leaseholders caught up in the cladding scandal has been well […] Click here to view original…
‘It’s not fair’: People living in ‘freezing’ Salford flats will have to wait another two years for cladding to be replaced
Eithne Crowson, 69, lives with her husband in Holm Court, Pendleton People living in freezing flats in Salford will have to wait another two years for cladding to be replaced. Residents of nine flats in Pendleton, who have complained ‘freezing’ conditions and increased heating costs , had their cladding […] Click here to view original…