PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
Fire Safety Remediation in Blocks below 11 metres (12 June 2023)

That this House notes with concern that leaseholders living in blocks below the arbitrary height threshold of 11 metres are facing uncapped costs to fix cladding and other building safety defects, which may lead to repossessions and bankruptcy; believes that these leaseholders are no more to blame for the national building safety crisis than those in taller buildings and deserve the same protection; believes that defective buildings of any height may require remediation if they have life critical safety risks, as serious fire incidents in other low-rise buildings have shown since Grenfell; is aware that Grenfell-style ACM cladding is now prohibited on buildings of all heights but that there is no financial support to remove it from sub-11m buildings; is aware that mortgage lenders may require an EWS1 form for homes to be sellable in sub-11m buildings and insurers may require remediation work as a condition of insurance for such buildings; and calls on the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to hold the responsible parties to account for unsafe buildings of all heights, to extend the duty to pursue alternative cost recovery routes before passing costs to leaseholders to buildings of all heights, and to establish a building safety fund to approve and control essential safety work for sub-11 metre buildings in cases where developers have not taken on the responsibility of doing so.

Sponsored by:
Hilary Benn (Labour)