PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Housing: Insulation (16 November 2020)

To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, if he will (a) bring forward legislative proposals to provide financial support to assist private leaseholders in complying with their legal obligations to remove and replace unsafe external cladding and (b) review the adequacy of free legal advice available to leaseholders in understanding their rights and obligations in relation to fire safety.

Asked by:
Darren Jones (Labour)

It is the responsibility of the building owner, whether freeholder or commonholder, to ensure their building is safe. This includes ensuring that there is an up-to-date fire risk assessment. The Department has made £1.6 billion available to support the remediation of unsafe cladding, and a large proportion of this will protect leaseholders from these costs and will deal with some of the highest risk and highest cost safety defects on high-rise buildings. The Department continues to work with, and has provided additional funding to, the Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) to ensure that leaseholders are aware of their rights and are supported to understand the terms of their leases.

Answered by:
Christopher Pincher (Independent)
24 November 2020