To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, if he will bring forward legislative proposals to prohibit the use of polystyrene ceiling tiles in rented accommodation.
Answered on
10 July 2017
Under the Housing Health and Safety Rating System, older polystyrene ceiling tiles that are identified in rented accommodation inspections as being a fire risk, can be subject to an Improvement Notice served by the Local Authority, requiring their removal. Failure to comply with an improvement Notice is a criminal offence, for which local authorities can impose a financial penalty of up to £30,000 or prosecute in the courts which have the power to impose an unlimited fine.
Unmodified polystyrene ceiling tiles do not comply with Building Regulations guidance , and so any new build home or other building should not be using them.