Owners of up to 70% of fire-trap flats may not be able to sue over safety failures under new law 

Owners of up to 70% of fire-trap flats may not be able to sue over safety failures as the buildings are too old to be covered under new law change

  • Bill extending the period building firms can face legal action has been published
  • It increases time for legal action over ‘shoddy workmanship’ from six to 15 years
  • Poll found 239 out of 330 buildings with fire safety defects are too old to qualify
  • Robert Jenrick claimed the ‘lion’s share’ of buildings would be covered by the law

Up to 70 per cent of fire-trap flats may not be covered by new powers to sue developers over building safety failures.

A Bill extending the period during which building firms can face legal action over ‘shoddy workmanship’ from six to 15 years after construction is published today by Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick.

But a snap poll by the UK Cladding Action Group found 239 out of 330 buildings surveyed with fire safety defects are too old to qualify. 

A Bill extending the period that building firms can face legal action over ‘shoddy workmanship’ from six to 15 years after construction was published by Robert Jenrick (pictured)

Leaseholders in 79 blocks said they could sue in principle because their homes were built after 2006 but few could afford it.

Mr Jenrick had claimed the ‘lion’s share’ of buildings with dangerous cladding would be covered by the new law.

The Building Safety Bill will also introduce a new regulator to oversee the safety of high-rise flats. 

But leaseholders will not be protected from costs of up to £150,000 each to fix fire safety defects. 

But a snap poll found 239 out of 330 buildings surveyed with fire safety defects are too old to qualify. Pictured: Grenfell Tower in West London in 2019, in which 72 people lost their lives

But a snap poll found 239 out of 330 buildings surveyed with fire safety defects are too old to qualify. Pictured: Grenfell Tower in West London in 2019, in which 72 people lost their lives

The legislation will enshrine the right of developers and building owners to hand bills to homeowners if they can show they first explored ‘alternative ways to meet remediation costs’.

Ritu Saha, of the UK Cladding Action Group, said it was ‘shambolic’ and ‘outrageous’.

Responding to the poll, the Government said: ‘We don’t recognise these unpublished figures. Our measures mark the biggest improvements to the regulation of building safety in 40 years.’

The Government more than tripled its fund to fix unsafe cladding to £5.1billion after the Mail launched its End the Cladding Scandal campaign.

But this is only for buildings 18m and higher, meaning those in medium-rise properties will be excluded.