In a round table discussion this week, local council leaders came together with the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities to discuss how they are taking action against rogue building owners.
As part of the battle against building owners who are failing to fix known safety issues in medium and high-rise properties, this work builds on the work that the government and councils have undertaken recently to ensure that safety work is carried out.
Alongside this collaboration, the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities has allocated more than £8 million of funding to support councils as they improve their reinforcement teams. With this investment, local authorities will have more scope to force building owners to carry out improvements.
Housing Minister Lee Rowley said:
“Councils and fire and rescue services play a crucial role in making sure dangerous buildings get fixed when building owners are stalling. Lots of councils are already doing great work in this area but all councils need to take the appropriate action to protect residents and make sure those responsible for making homes safe do so without any further delay.”
Newham Council was one of the local authorities involved in the discussions, with representatives outlining how they used their legal powers to prosecute one particular owner for failing to remove dangerous cladding. Newham’s involvement in this round table comes alongside the council’s commitment to making all high-rise residential buildings safe by the end of the decade.
Touching on this commitment, Cabinet Member for Housing Management and Modernisation Cllr Shaban Mohammed said:
“Securing approval for our very important building safety strategy to ensure our housing blocks are safe for residents today is another huge milestone in our concerted efforts to prioritise investment in our housing stock to improve the quality of life for residents and to protect our homes for future generations.”
Image credit: iStock
