Recommendation 17

The Government must stop pitting the building safety crisis against the housing crisis. Without access to funds for remediation where social tenants live, residents of social housing are paying the price through the diversion of funds from maintaining their homes and other vital services provided by housing associations and councils. Those on waiting lists and those who are homeless are paying the price through the decimation of planned new builds for affordable homes, with one in 10 planned developments axed. The principle that a leaseholder should be protected from costs, while a tenant, perhaps a neighbour in the same block, should contribute through their rent, is deeply unfair. Social landlords must have full access to funds for building safety remediation—ideally our recommended Comprehensive Building Safety Fund.