People who are unable to sell their properties because of cladding issues will be able to claim Welsh Government help from June. The scheme, called the Leaseholder Support Scheme, means those eligible can sell their property and either move on or rent the property back.
The Welsh Government has a £375m plan to help those impacted by the cladding scandal. It had already said it would help a "small number of leaseholders" who were in financial difficulties.
Climate change minister Julie James has now said the support scheme will help those people who are struggling financially and unable to sell their properties because of escalating costs associated with fire safety issues. Applications for support will open in June and will give eligible leaseholders an option to sell their property and, where appropriate, to either move on or rent the property back. Some have reported losing thousands of pounds trying to sell homes after safety problems emerged like Leigh Faulkner.
Read more: 'Inaction on cladding is inexcusable'
The Welsh Government has worked with partners and housing sector experts to identify an appropriate route for property valuation with clear eligibility criteria to create a comprehensive property purchase process for leaseholders. The details and are being finalised before it is launched.
The Welsh Building Safety Fund, which covers the cost of fire safety surveys, has identified more than 100 buildings from the first 248 applications where further more extensive and intrusive surveys are needed. The surveys, which are already under way, will result in a detailed report which sets out the work required to address fire safety defects – an important milestone in the process to remediate identified issues.
Ms James said: "We have been working hard on a whole-building approach to building safety – to reform standards and repair defects – in buildings over 11m. This puts people’s safety first and is more complex and comprehensive than one which only deals with cladding. This also makes it more expensive.
"We believe developers should contribute towards the costs of fixing these problems. Leaseholders and residents should not have to foot the bill. We have allocated £375m over the next three years to invest in building safety work and, as we progress with these works, we will continue to listen to residents and leaseholders and put their voices at the heart of decision making. I want to ensure our building safety reforms are practical and accessible. It is important that people can both see and understand the benefits of reforms that we will deliver in Wales.”"
Reforming building safety legislation and a second phase of the Welsh Building Safety fund is a commitment in the co-operation agreement drawn up between Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru after the Senedd election in 2021.
