UK gives housebuilders US$5b bill to remove cladding

[LONDON] Britain has ordered housebuilders to pay around US$5.4 billion to help remove dangerous cladding from buildings following a deadly 2017 London fire that left government, developers and owners at loggerheads over how to make properties safe.

The blaze at Grenfell Tower in London killed more than 70 people and revealed the widespread use of cheap flammable cladding on apartment blocks across the country, requiring expensive removal or round-the-clock fire watches.

The government has already committed around £5 billion (S$9.2 billion) for repairs so far, and last year imposed a levy on housebuilders to raise £2 billion towards the cost over the next 10 years.

It has so far targeted the removal of cladding on high-rise properties. The announcement on Monday is designed to remove cladding on buildings between 11 and 18 m high, where tenants had been facing bills of tens of thousands of pounds to remove cladding.

"It is neither fair nor decent that innocent leaseholders, many of whom have worked hard and made sacrifices to get a foot on the housing ladder, should be landed with bills they cannot afford to fix problems they did not cause," housing minister Michael Gove said.

The government has faced heavy criticism that it has taken this long to get to a solution, with some leaseholders unable to sell their properties when faced with bills that cost more than the value of the apartment itself.

The cladding used on the Grenfell block was identified as central to the rapid spread of the fire.

REUTERS