Developers may be asked to pay for removal of cladding

Thousands more flat owners could be spared the cost of removing dangerous cladding from their buildings under new government plans to coerce developers into shouldering the expense, according to a report.

- ANDY GREGORY

Currently only leaseholders in buildings taller than 18m – or those with at least six storeys – are able to access grants to replace cladding, introduced after the Grenfell Tower fire claimed 72 lives in June 2017 and exposed a safety crisis in properties across the country.

With people in buildings below that height facing the prospect of taking out large and costly loans to replace the flammable materials, often while struggling to sell properties that have depreciated in value since the Grenfell tragedy amid soaring insurance costs, the cut-off point for this funding has been heavily criticised by campaigners and experts.

In November, just weeks after assuming the role of housing secretary, Michael Gove announced that he was “pausing” plans for a loan scheme proposed under his predecessor Robert Jenrick, questioning why, as “innocent parties”, leaseholders should be forced to foot the cost of replacing the cladding.