September 2023 - End Our Cladding Scandal

Our meeting with Nationwide’s Head of Property Risk

Despite previous assurances from the big six mortgage lenders, far too many leaseholders of flats affected by cladding and other safety defects are still unable to sell or remortgage their homes.

As part of our campaign to ensure all stakeholders play their part in bringing a fair and speedy resolution to the building safety crisis, on 19th July we attended the AGM of the UK’s third largest mortgage provider, Nationwide Building Society, to question the Board. This was followed by a meeting on 1st September with their Head of Property Risk, Rob Stevens, alongside some of his colleagues.

First Remediation Order Granted Under the Building Safety Act

In August, a remediation order was granted by the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) under the Building Safety Act in the case of Waite & others v Kedai Limited. As the first case of its kind to reach a final hearing, it will be looked at closely by anyone considering potential litigation under the Building Safety Act.

Six years after Grenfell and one year after the Building Safety Act came into force, more than 90% of fire-risk flats are still awaiting remediation, therefore the likelihood of litigation being needed to break the deadlock remains high, unfortunately.

Our Meeting with Secretary of State, Michael Gove and the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities

On Wednesday 6th September 2023, we met with Michael Gove, Lee Rowley and DLUHC officials. Twenty months since the Secretary of State’s reset on building safety and fourteen months since the leaseholder protections came into force, we wanted to ensure that Mr Gove is fully aware of the serious challenges with the Government’s approach to building safety and that homes are not being fixed as quickly as we need and deserve.

The meeting was a follow up to our July letter to Mr Gove, which highlighted our Five Asks to end this crisis permanently, which are supported by The Sunday Times and Inside Housing. In the short time available, we prioritised key areas based on this agenda.