Government to exclude buy-to-let flats from claiming cladding fund
People living in high rise flats could have to wait longer till dangerous cladding is removed
There are concerns that people living in buildings with dangerous cladding could have to wait even longer for their homes to be made safe to live.
The Government are looking to put pressure on developers to remove the unsafe cladding, but there are concerns that it may take longer than expected.
The current idea will see housing developers having to foot the builder repair when the tenant cannot afford to cover the costs, however plans to exclude buy-to-let landlords from cladding relief funds could block building repairs.
"The people you need to protect are the lease holders"
Matt Storey is Councillor of Middlesbrough's Central Ward, which contains a block of flats with flammable cladding.
Councillor Storey has told Greatest Hits Radio that more work has to be done to get rid of loopholes in the system and that he worries for leaseholders with landlords in his constituency.
"A lot of these buy-to-let landlords buy these properties and they speculate on them", said Matt Storey.
"For them it's a golden goose, but when it turns out to be a golden duck they shouldn't expect the Government to step in and sort it out for them. It falls to them to pay those bills. The people you need to protect are the lease holders.
"The lease holders are the ones that are in danger. They're the ones living day-to-day in buildings that are unsafe. What we need to make sure is that if landlords are struggling that there are schemes in place to make sure that they can afford to pay those bills.
"Some of the measures the Government have suggested are perfectly reasonable, but they are asking developers to do the right thing voluntarily. That's a ludicrous proposition. Of course they won't do that. I don't believe that developers who build unsafe buildings are suddenly going to have a change of heart because the Government asked nicely."