The £9bn cladding black hole: As MPs vote down bill to protect leaseholders from huge fire safety costs, property owners are left facing crippling costs

  • MPs estimate it will cost £15bn to remove dangerous cladding from UK buildings
  • Housing Secretary has more than trebled Government's funding pot to £5.1bn   
  • But major firms have refused to say how many of their buildings require repairs 
  • Money promised by one construction giant could cover as little as 13% of the bill 
  • Ministers say those living in blocks above 18 metres don't have to pay for repairs
  • But leaseholders living in smaller buildings face bills of up to £600 a yearBritain's cladding crisis faces a £9 billion black hole despite developers vowing to pay £400 million to fix faulty buildings, a Daily Mail audit reveals.

    The money promised by one construction giant could cover as little as 13 per cent of the total bill faced by its leaseholders, leaving scores of homeowners facing shock bills for thousands of pounds.

    Multi-million pound firms have repeatedly refused to say how many of their buildings require costly repairs, making it impossible to tell whether their funds are adequate. 

    Shortfall: Britain's cladding crisis faces a £9bn black hole despite developers vowing to pay £400 million to fix faulty buildings

    Shortfall: Britain's cladding crisis faces a £9bn black hole despite developers vowing to pay £400 million to fix faulty buildings

    Others are wriggling off the hook by refusing to cover costs for blocks they built but no longer own.Hundreds of thousands of leaseholders are stuck in unsafe flats after the Grenfell disaster exposed deadly safety flaws.MPs estimate it will cost £15 billion to resolve the crisis - and there has been a slew of pledges since the Mail launched its campaign 12 weeks ago.

    Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick has more than trebled the Government's funding pot to £5.1 billion, while developers have set aside cash of their own.

    But it's thought a planned developer tax, that will bring in £2 billion over a decade, will be used to claw back the taxpayer's outlay. Including £400 million set aside by developers themselves, it means there is still £9 billion missing.

    Campaigners say the Government fund is a 'drop in the ocean' and accuse ministers of allowing developers to get away with 'token gestures'. 

    Even John Tutte, chairman of house builder Redrow, admits a £200 million-a-year developer tax is not 'a massive amount' for the industry to pay.

    Martin Boyd, chairman of charity Leasehold Knowledge Partnership, believes ministers have been spooked by industry claims that too harsh a levy will hinder their ability to build new homes. But he dismisses this as scaremongering.

    Tory MP Sir Peter Bottomley says: 'If the work is going to be done and there is no detriment to leaseholders to say which buildings they are, which buildings are they?'

    Where's the rest coming from? 

    Giles Grover is facing a £20,000 bill to repair a flat he paid £145,000 for in 2012

    Giles Grover is facing a £20,000 bill to repair a flat he paid £145,000 for in 2012

    Giles Grover paid £145,000 for a Bellway flat in Manchester in 2012. But in 2017, a survey found the 329-flat development had missing fire breaks and flammable cladding.

    It requires a 24-hour fire patrol, but developer Bellway refuses to take responsibility. Leaseholders now face paying £20,000 each.

    Bellway says the site was built according to regulations at the time, but its missing fire breaks were never allowed.

    Mr Grover says the firm is also hiding behind the six-year limit post-completion to bring claims. 

    The City Gate site, was built in the early 2000s. Leaseholders have been told the total cost will be £11.6 million and have been promised £5.6 million from the Government. 

    A Bellway spokesperson says the firm 'has set aside considerable funds to cover the costs of fire safety improvements where we have legal responsibility'. 

    He adds: 'Where we no longer have a legal responsibility for historic schemes, such as City Gate, we've been liaising with the responsible parties to ensure that they carry out any fire safety improvements required.'  

    Meanwhile, construction giants argue they cannot be held solely responsible. Industry sources claim only 5 per cent to 8 per cent of fire-trap flats have been built by big developers, while faults are often down to subcontractors or suppliers. 

    But Mr Boyd says: 'That's their problem. Car manufacturers buy all their bits from subcontractors, but you don't see Toyota turning around and saying: 'It's not really our fault, it's our brake supplier.' '

    Developers point out that cladding now deemed unsafe complied with regulations at the time. 

    But missing fire breaks and other non-cladding defects have never been allowed. 

    In these cases, firms hide behind the Defective Premises Act, which only gives six years to claim.

    The Government is reluctant to remove the onus from the building industry 'to do the right thing' by paying upfront in full itself. 

    On Monday, 33 Tory MPs rebelled against Government plans to allow building owners to pass on costs to leaseholders but lost by a majority of 69. 

    A Government spokesperson says: 'We are making industry pay for the mistakes of the past with a new levy and tax to contribute to the costs of remediation, backed by £5 billion Government funding and a generous capped finance scheme to ensure leaseholders are protected.'

    cladding@dailymail.co.uk

    Developers offer just £400m 

    Four leading developers have made almost £10 billion in profits since the Grenfell disaster and have pledged just over £400 million to fix unsafe homes.

    Here, the Mail dissects their offers...

    Persimmon (value: £9.25 billion)

    OFFER: £75 million for 26 buildings with potentially dangerous cladding and other safety defects. Nine of these are over 18 metres. Persimmon has made a £3 billion profit since Grenfell.

    REALITY: The £75 million may only cover around 72 per cent of the estimated £104 million bill to fix the 26 unsafe sites.

    A site in the North-West which has around 400 flats that was part-developed by Persimmon has received quotes of £12 million to fix it. 

    Residents are hoping the development will get up to £6 million from the Government fund leaving a £6 million shortfall.

    Persimmon says it has written to the building's management company offering to 'discuss what role Persimmon can play in keeping residents safe'.

    Barratt Developments (value: £7.4 billion)

    OFFER: The building giant has spent £82 million on fixing cladding and other defects on its developments.

    Last month Barratt, which has made £2.2 billion profit since Grenfell, became the first housebuilder to back calls for a developer levy to help pay for the crisis.

    REALITY: Barratt has not supplied a list of the housing blocks that are at risk despite repeated requests. 

    This makes it hard to know how much more money is needed to fix their developments. 

    Leaseholders say they have paid tens of thousands of pounds for stop-gap safety measures while they wait for repairs.

    Others in buildings such as Royal Artillery Quays in Woolwich, south London, are locked in disputes over whether Barratt is responsible for costly safety defects.

    Taylor Wimpey (value: £6.29 billion)

    OFFER: £125 million for 232 potentially unsafe buildings. Taylor Wimpey says its fund would cover any block built in the past 20 years, including those below 18 metres in height. 

    This is on top of a £40 million pot to cover the cost of replacing flammable cladding.

    REALITY: The new fund may only cover around 13 per cent of the total amount needed to fix 232 faulty buildings. Experts say this could reach £928 million, based on an average cost of £4 million.

    The developer insists its fund covers the full remediation costs of all the blocks.

    Bellway (value: £3.93 billion)

    OFFER: £86.8 million to make fire safety improvements to its homes where it has a 'legal responsibility'.

    Bellway says this covers all 'known liabilities for remediation works' and interim fire safety measures where necessary. It says it no longer has a 'legal responsibility for historic apartment schemes'.

    REALITY: It is impossible to gauge how generous Bellway's pledge is because it has repeatedly refused to say how many of its buildings need fixing.

    Leaseholders are frustrated that support only extends to blocks for which Bellway still has a 'legal responsibility'.

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