The Polluter Pays amendment, proposed by the Earl of Lytton, would provide added protection to property owners who have discovered that their buildings were not constructed to regulation standards – people who are not only living in potentially unsafe conditions but also facing high remediation costs.
The Building Safety Act 2022 currently provides leaseholders with varying degrees of statutory protection from the costs of cladding and non-cladding remediation and interim safety measures, such as waking watches. The act was a result of the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, which exposed failures in fire safety regulations and made tens of thousands of people aware that they were living in unsafe buildings. Leaseholders have been left facing bills running into the tens, or even hundreds of thousands of pounds for the remediation of fire safety defects.
However, many leaseholders still receive little or no protection from non-cladding remediation costs. Buy-to-let owners with more than three properties, enfranchised leaseholders and those living in blocks below 11 metres high are particularly exposed to these expenses.
The Polluter Pays amendment to the Levelling-up and Regeneration Bill provides for an alternative comprehensive solution to the building safety crisis, Lord Lytton says. The text is based on drafting by Daniel Greenberg, former parliamentary counsel and currently Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards.
The amendment would make either the builder or developer pay in full if found by the government to have breached building regulations at the time of construction or fund via a wide construction industry levy if they cannot pay. This will protect leaseholders from all costs resulting from defective building practices. It would also eliminate commercial corner-cutting and prevent future catastrophes like the Grenfell Tower fire, it is argued.
The Earl of Lytton will tell the House of Lords: “The simple truth is the government does not have the money to solve the problem and is at present unprepared to place the responsibility on the wealthy construction industry that has created this over decades of marking its own homework. The proposals I am advancing would resolve this.”
John Lytton, the 5th Earl of Lytton is a Crossbench peer whose country home is Knebworth House, famous for numerous rock concerts over the years and as a filming location for films ranging from The Shooting Party and the 1997 version of Jane Eyre to Carry On Henry and The Great Muppet Caper.
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