Grenfell fire tragedy casting a long, expensive shadow
Updated / Thursday, 28 Jan 2021
20:27
London Correspondent
The Grenfell Tower fire in London claimed the lives of 72 people in June, 2017. But the longer term fallout from the fire safety issues raised by the tragedy is blighting the lives of up to four million people in Britain.
Not only are they living in buildings with fire safety risks, but they are finding themselves saddled with large bills to pay for fixing problems of external cladding, insulation, firebreaks, alarms and sprinkler systems, as well as rapidly rising insurance bills.
Increasingly, they find themselves unable to sell their properties, as banks and other mortgage companies will not finance apartment sales without hard-to-get proof of fire safety compliance.
More than three years on from the Grenfell Tower fire, many buildings are yet to have dangerous cladding removed. Credit: PA The extent of London’s cladding crisis has been laid bare by a report from the London Assembly, with both the Mayor of London and the Government urged to act. More than three years on from the Grenfell Tower fire, around two thirds of private residential buildings in London identified as high-risk have still not had cladding removed. In addition, many leaseholders are finding that they cannot sell or remortgage their properties as they are deemed to have no sale value, leaving them trapped in homes that are potentially unsafe.