Angry Leeds flat owner accuses government of 'stunt' over cladding support funding

Pippa Hamshaw, aged 31, says the measures announced today are a 'stunt'

Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick on Wednesday unveiled a new £3.5 billion package to end the "cladding scandal". In a Commons statement, Robert Jenrick said the "exceptional" intervention means no leaseholders in high-rise blocks in England will face charges for the removal of unsafe cladding.

But Pippa Hamshaw, aged 31, who owns a flat in Leeds city centre and has been stung by a 162% increase in costs related to fire safety since 2019, says the measures are not nearly enough.

She told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “I’m still angry. It feels like they are not tackling it properly - it’s all a bit of a stunt to make the wider public think they are sorting it.

“It’s not enough and doesn’t solve so many of the issues. Cladding is not the only issue - there are still lots of things that leaseholders are liable for.

“They are not assisting anyone in flats under 18 metres in height, it would appear because that’s where they have been told the greatest risk is, but the risk is great enough that leaseholders in flats under 18m are still having to pay to have cladding removed."

Miss Hamshaw's experience is in line with thousands of other flat owners across Leeds and nationally who have been putting pressure on the government to provide help, with the cost of cladding removal leaving some facing bankruptcy and worthless properties.

Mr Jenrick added that, without the Government's intervention, many building owners would have continued to pass on the costs of cladding remediation work to leaseholders.

"That would risk punishing those who have worked hard, who have bought their own home, but through no fault of their own have found themselves caught in an absolutely invidious situation," he said.

"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."

His announcement drew a furious response, with critics - including some Tories - warning it fails to address the problems faced by residents living in unsellable flats in unsafe blocks.

Three-and-a-half years after the Grenfell fire tragedy in which 72 people died when flames spread via combustible cladding, the Grenfell United pressure group said it is "too little, too late".

"We needed something to deal with this mess once and for all - we didn't get that today," they said in a statement.

"Residents living in unsafe homes will go to bed tonight worrying if their building will qualify or be left out once again. And bereaved and survivors of Grenfell will lay awake fearful that what happened to us could still happen again."

Ms Hamshaw bought her flat in Leeds city centre in 2019 and was informed the next year that her flat had issues with flammable cladding, flammable insulation, missing fire breaks and wooden balconies. She has faced a series of extra costs to pay herself to deal with the issues - and says her service charges have shot up by 162%, making the monthly costs more than the mortgage itself.

She added: “I am fortunate that in my flat, the funding will help pay for cladding but cladding is not the only issue. The money needs to cover firebreaks and wooden balconies as well.

“The other problem is that the works cannot start until all the money is provided up front, so even when the cladding money is provided, the building still needs more money from leaseholders for firebreaks and wooden balconies and we will still be stuck in a flammable building for years before the works can start. In the meantime we have to pay more for insurance, more for fire watch.

“The funding needs to cover all building defects and it needs to cover buildings of all sizes.”