To ask the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, whether her Department plans to introduce a Building Safety Leaseholder Support Scheme for people in financial hardship.
Answered on
10 January 2025
The Building Safety Act includes multiple protections and support mechanisms for leaseholders. These measures ensure that those who built defective buildings are responsible for fixing them and protect leaseholders from facing huge bills for historical safety defects.
For instance, qualifying leaseholders are exempt from costs associated with non-cladding defects and interim measures if their property is valued below certain thresholds (£325,000 in Greater London, £175,000 elsewhere in England). Any contributions required from leaseholders with properties above these thresholds are capped and spread over ten years, with costs already paid since 28 June 2017, counting towards the cap. Additionally, there is funding available for all leaseholders (whether they qualify for the leaseholder protections or not) to address life-threatening fire risks associated with cladding on residential buildings over 11 metres in height.
All leaseholders are protected from the costs of historical safety remediation if the building owner is - or is associated with - the developer who is responsible for that defect. The Act also includes measures which provide leaseholders with access to remediation contribution orders to recover costs from those responsible for defects.
In addition to financial support, free independent legal advice through the Leasehold Advisory Service has also been made available to leaseholders.
The Government is committed to reviewing how to better protect leaseholders from costs and to accelerate the pace of remediation across the country.