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G15: 650 housing association families unable to sell or remortgage flats due to government combustible guidance
A total of 650 families living in high-rise blocks owned by housing associations in London are unable to sell or remortgage their homes because of issues to do with the cladding systems on their buildings, Inside Housing can reveal.
The G15, the group representing London’s 12 largest housing associations, has for the first time revealed the number of households unable to prove to lenders that their buildings’ cladding adheres to government advice on combustible materials.
In December 2018 the government published Advice Note 14, which called on owners of buildings taller than 18m to check for combustible materials in the external wall systems of their stock and remove the materials if found.
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The guidance has led to a number of issues for leaseholders, including sales of properties being cancelled and sellers having their properties valued at £0 if unable to provide evidence that the external wall system complies with Advice Note 14.
Those trying to remortgage have also struggled with their properties being unmortgageable without Advice Note 14 certification. This can lead to leaseholders being put on variable mortgage rates that are far higher than their previous rates.
This has caused problems for leaseholders and shared owners living in private blocks or housing association-owned ones. The issues are exacerbated by a lack of fire engineers and inspectors available to carry out Advice Note 14 checks, as well as some inspectors now struggling to secure the correct public liability insurance to be able to sign off buildings.
Last week Nigel Glen, chief executive of the Association of Residential Managing Agents, said that the country faces a “complete stall of flat selling” because of Advice Note 14.
The Labour Party estimates that there could be as many as 600,000 affected residents across England.
Reflecting on the new figures, Helen Evans, chair of the G15 and chief executive of Network Homes, said that the government needs to help “unstick the process”.
She said: “The government needs to provide urgently needed clarity to their confusing guidance and explore funding, as costs associated with building safety will otherwise leave many leaseholders with unaffordable bills, and reduce the capacity of housing associations to build new affordable homes.”
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