South London leaseholders caught up in the cladding scandal are selling their furniture to keep up with huge bills. The rapid spread of the 2017 Grenfell fire, which claimed 72 lives, was found to be caused by dangerous cladding. Now laws designed to make sure combustible cladding and other fire hazards are removed from buildings have left leaseholders facing tens of thousands of pounds in costs. Many of their homes are now unsellable as lenders will not offer mortgages until the cladding is removed. Some blocks were found to be so at risk after External Wall System (EWS1) surveys, a ‘waking watch’ had to be enforced – people who patrol 24/7 to watch for a fire.