Include Buy To Let in cladding action - government support demanded

Propertymark has entered the debate about whether buy to let landlords should be amongst those receiving help from the government in remediating dangerous cladding.

Last month Housing Secretary Michael Gove announced plans to force developers to pay for remedial action to tackle dangerous cladding on buildings between 11 and 18 metres high.

In the same announcement he argued that leaseholders should not be expected to foot the bill. However, ministers have yet to decide if buy to let landlords will be included within the scheme.

Now Timothy Douglas, Propertymark’s new head of policy and campaigns, has written to Gove to seeking the inclusion of the buy to let sector.

Here’s is Douglas’s letter in full:

Dear Mr Gove, 

31 January 2022 

Re: Private rented sector landlords must be included in the cladding remediation fund 

Following your announcement on 10 January 2022, setting out the UK Government’s plans to protect leaseholders and make the residential property developer industry pay for the cladding crisis, I am writing to seek urgent clarification that financial support to fix dangerous cladding will be made equally available to all affected leaseholders, including buy-to-let landlords. 

Propertymark is the leading professional body for lettings and estate agents, commercial agents, inventory providers, auctioneers and valuers, comprising nearly 18,000 members across the UK. Many of our members work closely with landlords who are extremely concerned that they face huge financial hardship if they are forced to pay for a scandal, they had no part in causing. 

The principle that leaseholders must not be expected to pay to fix a cladding crisis that they did not cause is wholly correct and lies at the heart of the UK Government’s plans to address the issue. There is therefore no logical basis on which buy-to-let landlords should be excluded from this. Buy-to-let landlords are no more to blame and deserve justice just as much as any other leaseholder. We trust that the UK Government does not intend for landlords to be penalised for simply being landlords. 

The private rented sector is now the second largest housing tenure in England encompassing, individuals, couples, families, and older people. As a vital provider of homes for people up and down the country it is important that we have a level paying field, with landlords receiving the same support as owner-occupiers and those forced to sub-let their homes due to the building safety crisis. Without the same level of support, we are concerned about the creation of a two-tier approach to remediation and additional levels of complexity to the process. 

We welcome efforts by the UK Government to bring an end to this issue that has left many people unable to re-mortgage, sell or rent out these homes, so it’s vital that private rented sector landlords are included in the support. 

I would be grateful for urgent clarification on the matter and for an opportunity to discuss this with the Department.