£3.5 billion to put an end to 'cladding scandal'
A new tax on residential property will be introduced to pay for the scheme
Last updated 24th May 2022
An additional £3.5 billion will be spent removing unsafe cladding from high and medium-rise buildings in England, according to Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick.
It comes three and a half year after the Grenfell tower tragedy, in which 72 people died when a fire spread rapidly through the building due to unsafe cladding.
The scheme will be partially funded by the introduction of a new tax on residential property in the UK from 2022.
Who will the funding help?
Buildings above 18m or more than 6 storeys are considered as high rise and lease-holders in these blocks will face no charges for cladding removal.
Meanwhile those in buildings smaller than 18m, where cladding removal is less urgent due to what the government term "significantly lower" risk, will be part of a longer term scheme in which they can access loans.
Mr Jenrick assured that those in low-rise flats would never have to pay more than £50 per month for cladding removal.
An "exceptional intervention"
According to the housing secretary, Government intervention was vital to ensure that building owners did not pass the high costs of remediation work onto lease-holders.
According to Mr Jenrick, the scheme aims avoid "punishing those who have worked hard" who "through no fault of their own have found themselves caught in an absolutely invidious situation."
He continued: “I’m therefore, today, making an exceptional intervention on behalf of the Government and providing certainty that leaseholders in high-rise residential buildings will face no costs for cladding remediation works.
“This will ensure that we end the cladding scandal in a way that is fair and generous to leaseholders.”
The announcement has been criticised as coming "too late"
The announcement has been deemed "too late" by Labour however, who said that the Government had still not delivered on their promise made last March to remove all unsafe cladding from high rises.
A Conservative MP, Stephen McPartland, also criticised the announcement, describing it as "all smoke and mirrors".
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