A RETAIL manager has been left unable to sell his flat after learning his building is covered from head to toe in unsafe cladding – and described the discovery as “an emotional rollercoaster”.
Jake Sampson, from Bristol, revealed how the dream of moving into a home with his girlfriend Anna has suffered a major setback after the horrifying discovery.
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Jake, 30, put his one-bedroom flat on the market in February for £200,000, but he soon realised that the selling process would be far from smooth after his solicitor asked him for a EWC1 form.
These forms are used to inform lenders whether a block of flats is safe and doesn’t have combustible cladding in any external walls.
They aren’t mandatory to have, but many lenders will ask you to provide one before offering you a mortgage on a property.
It comes after the Grenfell Tower Fire of 2017 claimed 72 lives when the entire block went up in flames due to unsafe cladding. A harrowing report into the tragedy was published this week.
Jake asked the management company for his block of flats, Residential Management Group (RMG), for this form – but it said it couldn’t provide one as a previous survey had flagged the building’s cladding was deemed unsafe.
Jake told his solicitor and had to relay the news to a prospective buyer who then pulled out of the sale, leaving him stuck.
“I’m in a sticky situation,” Jake said. “My girlfriend, Anna, is moving out and into my flat now, but we are forced into being here. It’s massively impacted the direction of our lives.
“We are looking to the future, but it’s not possible to start a family in a one-bedroom property. It’s really put our lives on hold.”
Jake has been working tirelessly to get the cladding removed as quickly as possible, including contacting the local MP Karen Smith and setting up a Facebook page for residents in the 136-flat apartment block.
He said he has been in contact with RMG about fixing, or removing and replacing the cladding, but responses from the company have been minimal.
He said: “We were chasing (Karen) Smith to see if anything could be done.
“But speaking to RMG has sometimes been like speaking to a brick wall. No updates have really been given.”
The whole palaver since February has taken a massive emotional toll on both Jake and Anna, also 30.
“At one point were going to buy a new place and we were thinking about the future,” Jake said.
“Life felt like it was slicking together and it’s been a slap in the face, it’s been really really tough for both of us.
“You read into other people’s stories and people have been stuck for four, five, six years and you think ‘oh my god, what if we are still here for five or six years’. That’s going to put our lives under so much stress.”
The cladding scandal
Jake is one of hundreds of thousands of people across the UK living in a property with unsafe cladding, according to recent analysis by The Sunday Times.
Cladding refers to the outer layer of high rise buildings and acts as insulation and protection against inclement weather.
Events like the Grenfell Tower Fire in 2017 have shed light on how unsafe cladding and insulation can have fatal consequences, with the blaze taking the lives of 72 people.
This week, a 1,700-page report was published detailing the six-year enquiry into the context behind the tragedy and came with a raft of recommendations on how tower blocks can be made safer.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer addressed the long-awaited report in the House of Commons on Wednesday, apologising to impacted families that were “let down so badly”.
He said construction firms implicated in the report would be blocked from receiving any more Government contracts.
Even when lives haven’t been lost, unsafe cladding has been ruinous for people, with some seeing their home insurance premiums and service charges soar while they’re stuck trying to sell them on.
Giles Grover, from campaign group End Our Cladding Scandal, said: “We can talk about the number of buildings or the enormous sums of money it could end up taking to fix this crisis but we have to remember that this must be first and foremost about people.
“About human beings who just want to have the very basic human right of being and feeling safe in their homes.
“People across the country have had their lives and life choices ruined through absolutely no fault of their own yet we are still the ones who are paying the price for this absolute horror show – both financially and in terms of their mental health.
“We feel trapped and powerless, and we’re constantly being told that residents are at the heart of what the Government does but then repeatedly seeing that their actions never match this.
“We need Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner to do the right thing where the previous government failed, so we can all just finally begin to think about being able to move on with our lives irrespective of our circumstances.”
A RMG spokesperson told The Sun of this case: “This particular building did not initially require an EWS1 form as it is four storeys, but the guidance has since changed.
“While not a legal requirement, we recognise the need for owners to have an EWS1 to support sales and remortgages and this is currently being assessed by the original developer’s fire engineer.
“As soon as we have the results of the investigation, we will update the residents and apologise for any inconvenience while we wait for this to be completed.
“We would like to reassure all homeowners, however, that the building has been assessed by the building owner’s fire risk assessors and they are satisfied with the emergency procedures and controls in place.”
What can you do if your home has unsafe cladding
Recent figures published by the Government show there are 11,000 buildings it expects to need remediation works to ensure their cladding is safe.
However, the latest official statistics reveal only 4,630 buildings are being actively monitored with cladding having been removed from 1,350 buildings – around 12% of the estimated total.
The Government said it will commit £9.2billion worth of funding to the remediation works as part of an overall package worth £18billion.
If you are one of the hundreds of thousands stuck in a property with unsafe cladding, there are steps you can take to improve your situation, Giles said.
As a leaseholder or resident you should first contact your property managing agent to ask for information about the safety of the building you are in.
Giles said if you are a leaseholder, your building is covered by the developer self-remediation contract.
The legally binding contract, which was signed in March 2023, commits 55 large developers to remediate cladding on buildings over 11 metres high that were developed in the 30 years up to 2022.
If the developer that constructed your building is signed up, you should have received a “comfort letter” confirming the developer is funding all remediation works.
You can also check the full list of developers who signed the contract via https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/developer-remediation-contract.
If, as a leaseholder, you have contacted your property managing agent and communication is poor, you can speak to the building safety team at the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government.
More information on how to contact the department can be found via https://www.gov.uk/guidance/cladding-and-other-fire-safety-works-information-for-residents.
If you are struggling to get the information or support you need, you can contact the End Our Cladding Scandal campaign.
It is led by volunteers who are all personally affected by the building safety scandal and may be able to signpost you to the support you need.
You can find more details about the campaign group on its website – https://endourcladdingscandal.org.
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