Thanks to the kind support of ShareAction, a leaseholder affected by the building safety crisis attended Berkeley Group’s AGM on 8th September to question the Board on behalf of our campaign, and this was followed by a meeting on 13th October, to discuss the issues raised in more depth.
Continue reading “Berkeley Group’s 2023 AGM and our follow-up meeting”
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.
Continue reading “Our meeting with Nationwide’s Head of Property Risk”
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.
Continue reading “Our Meeting with Secretary of State, Michael Gove and the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities”
“Really importantly, this gives real hope for people, that they’re going to get their homes back together and they can get their lives back together,” said the Minister for Housing, as he announced that his government would fully fund 100% of remediation costs for construction defects in all apartments across the country.
No, this isn’t a dream. This is Ireland, where a precedent has recently been set – which we are looking for Michael Gove to follow in England and Wales.
We want to see all homes made safe as quickly as possible and all innocent leaseholders protected from the costs of remediating building safety defects. But despite frequent statements from the Government that innocent leaseholders ‘should not’ pay, those deemed to be ‘non-qualifying’ are still facing entirely uncapped costs. In this guest blog, Maggie and Suzy, co-leaders of the Non-Qualifying Leaseholders campaign group share an update on their recent engagement with DLUHC.
Continue reading “Non-Qualifying Leaseholders meeting with DLUHC”
It is self-evident that the proposals in this consultation would not be needed if the Government would “do the right thing,” as it frequently urges other parties to the building safety crisis to do, and fully protect all leaseholders from all costs caused by building safety defects.
Continue reading “Our response to the DLUHC consultation on alternative cost recovery for remediation works”
Are you a leaseholder stuck in the building safety crisis and wondering where to turn? In this blogpost, we’ve pulled together a summary of the current resources that may help you.
Continue reading “Where to get support to resolve your building safety issues”
We met with Housing Secretary Michael Gove on 11th January – this was our fourth meeting with him since his September 2021 appointment and the first since his return to the role in late October 2022.
Continue reading “Our meeting with Michael Gove”
DLUHC has responded to the questions we submitted following our meeting on 3 August 2022 with the then Secretary of State for Housing, Greg Clark.
Continue reading “DLUHC responses to EOCS questions”
We would like to thank the new Secretary of State for Housing, Greg Clark, for meeting us to listen to the stories of ordinary people trapped in the building safety crisis. Mr Clark told us that he considers this scandal to be the most important issue facing his department today, and one that he is determined to solve. Last week, a construction industry source suggested that finalising contracts should be delayed until a new prime minister is in place. However, Mr Clark has told us that the Government will accelerate policies put forward by his predecessor, Michael Gove, and that there will be no ‘treading water’.
Continue reading “Report on our 3 August meeting with Housing Secretary Greg Clark”