Government 'should pay to replace Grenfell-type cladding'

The government should pay to replace Grenfell Tower-type cladding so lives are not put at risk, the head of a group representing property managers said.

Residents of some privately-owned tower blocks have been asked to foot the bill for replacement panels since the disaster which claimed 71 lives.

Dr Nigel Glen called for interest-free government loans to fund the work.

The government said building owners are expected to fund fire safety measures.

Cladding on 228 buildings failed safety tests after the Grenfell Tower fire.

"Get the work done and argue afterwards," said Dr Glen, chief executive of the Association of Residential Managing Agents (ARMA) which represents about half of property managers in England and Wales.

Residents at Croydon's Citiscape have been asked to pay up to £2m for replacement panels.

Will Stanton, who moved into Fresh Apartments in Salford in April, said it is "pretty distressing" to be in an "unprecedented situation where nobody really knows how much it is going to cost" or "where the costs are going to be borne."

"Obviously I want to live in a safe home... but it is unfair for me to be charged when there are some culpable parties," he said.

Mr Stanton said his service charge has trebled to pay for fire marshals who are on 24-hour duty until the work is completed.

"[It was] £287 a quarter and now it has gone up to £900," he said.

Matthew Crisp, also living at Fresh, said he hoped money would be made available to "people who bought their flats in good faith" by either the government or the insurance of the building's freeholder.

"It doesn't seem fair to me that the little people should pay", he added.

Dr Glen said "the legal system is quite clear" that "leaseholders have to pay" but argues that neither they nor the landlords are at fault so the government should step in.

He said it is "unfair" to ask landlords who had their cladding approved by local building control bodies "to pay and pass those costs onto the leaseholders."

"But the issue here - which for me is more important - is time, because while everybody is talking about the legal costs and who should pay, people are living in dangerous buildings".

He said 12 of ARMA's 250 members must replace cladding at an estimated cost of £20m.