Cllr Paul Dimoldenberg

• LEASEHOLDERS in high-rise homes in Paddington Basin and elsewhere in Westminster who are facing huge bills to fix fire safety defects will get little help from the latest government proposals.

The proposed measures would allow residents in buildings completed after 2010 to take legal action until 2025.

However, many leaseholders with combustible cladding and other fire safety problems cannot afford to instruct solicitors and are facing demands for payment now. So many leaseholders are struggling to even to afford waking watch and insurance bills.

How does the government expect them to pay for legal fees for long and complex court cases that may or may not end up in victory?

Rather than doing the bare minimum and washing their hands of the problem, the government needs to establish a building works agency to assess, fix and certify every building.

Leaseholders should be legally protected from costs and the agency should then take over the rights to pursue developers themselves to ensure the polluter pays.

CLLR PAUL DIMOLDENBERG
Labour City Management Spokesperson
Westminster City Hall, SW1