Owners of high-rise housing blocks covered in Grenfell-style cladding should face having their buildings seized by the council if they fail to replace it by the end of the year, Labour has urged.  

According to the party, more than 90% of private blocks found to have the same cladding as Grenfell Tower – 164 out of 175 – have still not had it replaced two years on from the fire in north west London that claimed 72 lives.

It is thought that the cladding was a key contributor to the speed with which the fire tore through the building.

With almost half of these private sector housing blocks without even a plan to fix their flammable cladding, it could take 30 years for all of the buildings to have their cladding fully replaced, Labour said.

“Many private tower block owners have shown zero sign of replacing their Grenfell-style cladding, and government ministers are letting them drag their feet,” shadow housing secretary John Healey said.

“Enough is enough. Private block owners should be made to replace this dangerous cladding, or face councils taking over ownership of these buildings to get this vital safety work done.”

Labour is also calling on the government to “name and shame” block owners with dangerous cladding and make funding available for councils who take over blocks with dangerous cladding.

 

 

A government spokesperson said there was “nothing more important than making sure people are safe in their homes”. 

“That is why we have committed to fully funding the replacement of unsafe ACM cladding on high-rise private residential buildings so residents can feel confident they are secure in their homes,” they said. 

“We have been clear that there are no more excuses and we expect these buildings to be remediated as quickly as possible. We are backing local authorities to take enforcement action where building owners are refusing to act.”

The call from Labour comes on the same day Shelter, alongside Grenfell United, urged the government to appoint a new consumer regulator to protect tenants and inspect social landlords. 

The housing charity found that half of people renting from a local authority or housing association in England – the equivalent of five million people – have had a problem with the building in the past three years – including electrical hazards and gas leaks.

According to the study, among those with a problem, one in 10 had to report it more than 10 times.

Half the more than 1,000 people surveyed said they had less trust in the government to keep social tenants safe in their homes since the Grenfell Tower fire.

“Social tenants living in Grenfell Tower raised serious safety concerns before the fire, but they were ignored. Two years on, social renters are still being failed by poor regulation and people are still fighting to be heard,” said Shelter chief executive Polly Neate. 

“In the wake of food scandals and financial scandals, the Government responded with new regulators to protect consumers, and that’s exactly what we need for social housing,” she continued. 

“It cannot be right that scores of complaints and problems that affect whole blocks of flats, like faulty lifts or gas leaks, go unheard. We need a new regulator that’s firmly on the side of tenants.”

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Housing said: “No-one should be forced to live in unsafe housing and we are working closely with Grenfell United and others to ensure social homes are safe and issues are resolved quickly.

“In our recent Social Housing Green Paper consultation we set out proposals to rebalance the relationship between residents and landlords, to tackle stigma and ensure residents’ voices are heard  – and we will publish our response before the summer recess.”