Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Buy-to-let landlords facing cladding bills ‘makes no sense’, ministers warned

Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association, has criticised the Government’s stance.

Rebecca Speare-Cole
Monday 31 January 2022 00:01 GMT
Contractors undertake work at a residential property in Paddington, London, as part of a project to remove and replace non-compliant cladding (PA)
Contractors undertake work at a residential property in Paddington, London, as part of a project to remove and replace non-compliant cladding (PA) (PA Archive)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Landlords have warned the Government that getting buy-to-let landlords to pay for cladding removal “makes no sense”.

Ben Beadle, chief executive of the National Residential Landlords Association (NRLA), has urged ministers to rectify the “injustice” of these landlords potentially having to pay for remedial works on their buildings.

It comes as Mr Beadle prepares to speak to MPs on the issue at the Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Select Committee on Monday.

We are calling on the Government to rectify this injustice as a matter of urgency

Ben Beadle

The NRLA’s warning follows Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Secretary Michael Gove’s announcement earlier this month that developers will have to pay for remedial works to tackle dangerous cladding on buildings between 11 and 18 metres high.

Ministers have confirmed that both leaseholders and those who have been forced to sublet because they cannot sell their property will be protected from footing the bill.

But Housing Minister Christopher Pincher confirmed last week that the Government has not made the decision to extend this to buy-to-let landlords.

Mr Beadle said: “It makes no sense to be treating leaseholders who are landlords so differently to owner-occupiers.

“Both groups have faced the same problems, and both should be treated equally.

“We are calling on the Government to rectify this injustice as a matter of urgency.”

A spokesperson for the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: “We are bringing this scandal to an end – protecting leaseholders and making industry pay.

“It is not right that innocent leaseholders – including those who have moved out and now sublet their properties – should pay to remove dangerous cladding for which they were not responsible.

“We will explore whether this support should extend to other leaseholders, such as buy-to-let landlords.”

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in