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Written question asked by Shabana Mahmood (Labour) on Thursday, 27 January 2022, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 31 January 2022. It was answered by Christopher Pincher (Conservative) on Monday, 7 February 2022 on behalf of the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.

Buildings: Safety

Question

To ask the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, whether there is a mechanism for leaseholders to request a second opinion following a building safety assessment and report on their building.

Answer

Fire risk assessments must be proportionate to make sure that unnecessary remediation costs are avoided and leaseholders are protected from unreasonable costs. Where remediation of a building is recommended by an assessor, material supporting this conclusion should be transparent and there should be evidence that alternatives, such as management or mitigation measures, have been clearly considered.

Leaseholders can request that a building owner seek a second opinion from another fire risk assessor on the necessity of the works or their costs. The building owner would need to agree to this and leaseholders would be responsible for any additional costs.

The Building Safety Bill will make it a requirement in law that a freeholder needs to explore all alternative sources of funding before passing these costs on to leaseholders.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
113078
Session
2021-22
Subjects
Buildings Leasehold Safety
Link
View this Written question on www.parliament.uk